Outcast
by Zoekr97
Summary: Two months ago 20 year old Lia left the pack to move to Orlando. But now people are being killed by a wild animal and she's the prime suspect.
1. Prolouge

**This is my first fan-fic. hope you like. R&R plz! (criticism is very appreciated)**

**This is just the prologue so i know it's pretty short.**

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><p>'Why not?' I yell at Jeremy.<p>

'It's too dangerous and I'm not risking any of your lives to help someone who doesn't want our assistance,' Jeremy replies back calmly and evenly.

'So you're willing to just sit back and watch innocent people die because our help hasn't been asked for?'

'Lia, I have made up my mind. We are not going anywhere to help and that's final.' Jeremy snaps. 'You won't go and try to help either. That's an order.'

'You are _not_ the boss of me,' I say.

'No I'm not, I'm your Alpha.' Jeremy turns to leave the study.

'Not if I leave,' I whisper.

Jeremy spins round to face me, shock on his face. Ever since I had left the Coven to join the Pack I had never even thought of leaving. But this was different, innocent people were dying and we could do something, if only Jeremy would let us.

'Do you want to leave?' asks Jeremy, his expression composed again and his voice steady.

I shrug. 'Let me go, please.'

'I won't let you risk your life, you are not going.'

'Then I guess I no longer belong here,' I meet Jeremy's gaze before brushing past him.

'Walk out that door now and you won't be welcome back,' Jeremy's voice warns me as I reach for the front door handle.

'Fine, I'll go pack first.'

A low growl comes from Jeremy's study. Did he just growl? Jeremy doesn't do that, not now not ever. I shake my head and go upstairs to pack my stuff.

Half an hour later and I'm gone. Stonehaven has disappeared behind me. It's over, I'm no longer Pack. I take a deep breath as I board my plane to Orlando, to my new home.


	2. Chapter 1

**Thanks to _shewolf13_ for reveiwing on the prologue, i think it actually made me type faster. lol. **

**R&R plz. and ive just noticed that on the prologue i put 'critisism is very welcome'. i did mean constructive critisism plz!**

**Anyway Chapter 1:**

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><p>I reread the last sentence of my latest article for the collage magazine. No mater what way round I put it it still sounds… wrong. As if I know more than I'm telling. That's true of course, not that I'm about to tell my classmates my secret. I'm a werewolf witch hybrid. Born a witch then bitten as a baby. Kinda like those old stories you hear about werewolves kidnapping toddlers at night, biting them and raising them to become man-eaters. That isn't what happened to me, thank god. We, or should I say I now that I'm no longer Pack, don't know who bit me, don't know who'd want to. Unless they're some pervert like the werewolves that are always trying to seduce Elena into having sex with them (so yeah every mutt out there).<p>

I take another look at my article and end up just deleting the last sentence. There, done. I click send as Sophie, my roommate and best friend, bangs open the door. I wince at the loud noise, sometimes super hearing can have it's disadvantages.

'How's the article going?' she asks, collapsing on the bed.

'I just sent it to Ash,' I reply. Ash is head of the collage magazine, and very hot if I may say so.

'You should defiantly ask him to go with you to that coffee shop you like,' suggests Sophie.

I pull a face.

'Or I could ask him for you,' she hints evilly.

'How old are we again? Because the last time someone offered to ask a guy out for me was in High School.'

'Well I'm twenty one next month, but you? I'm guessing eighteen, nineteen.' Werewolves age slowly. She sighs. 'It's not fair. You have to tell me your secrets. I swear I saw a grey hair last night when I was in the shower.'

'Really?' I laugh. 'Well I hope you didn't pull it out, or ten more will grow in it's place.'

'Shit!' Sophie runs across our room and peers into the mirror. After checking her hair for any grey she turns on me scowling. 'Liar.'

'Am not. One time Jeremy…' I stop short, realising what I was about to say.

'Why don't you go back to New York for Spring break, see your family.'

'I wouldn't be welcome,' I say truthfully.

'They're your family Lia. At least ring,' pleads Sophie.

'Maybe,' I give in, hoping that would keep Sophie quiet.

Sophie smiles as if she's just ran a marathon. With me it probably feels that way sometimes, let's just say I'm not the easiest person to be around and leave it at that. She checks her phone without looking at me again. I wait for my laptop to shut down and close it. As I'm putting my notebook back in my drawer Sophie gasps.

I look up. 'What's wrong?'

'There's been another animal attack.' She whimpers.

I curse silently. 'C'mon, let's go check it out, Ash will want this in the magazine as well if I can get the details.'

'Are you sure?' I glance at Sophie, she isn't the type to hesitate. 'You don't have to follow this case, Ash would understand.'

I shake my head. 'But I _do_ Sophie. Trust me.' I beg her with my eyes, turning on the innocent and hurt puppy look.

Sophie rolls her eyes at me and jumps off her bed. 'How can I refuse that sweet face?'

'You can't and that's what makes it completely fool proof,' I grin.

Sophie rolls her eyes again as she heads for the door. I grab my coat and follow her.

-Ten minutes later-

I get out of my car and stop to wait for Sophie.

'Ready?' she asks me excitedly.

'Let's get this over with. Where did you say the attack was again?'

'Behind the cinema. Apparently one of the employees went out for a smoke, missed the start of his shift and was found dead at the back entrance with his throat ripped out.'

I nod, processing this. I had to be a mutt. Wolves and wild dogs don't come this close to the city, do they? This is the third attack in the past two weeks. Unless I can find the mutt responsible soon the Pack will get involved and I really don't want to face them. Not yet anyway. I'm surprised they've left it this long to be honest. I mean it's not like it's been three homeless people that have been killed so would have barely gotten a spot in the newspaper here, let alone in Bear Valley. All three victims have been completely different, varying ages, different genders, religions, race. But they have had families that will report a missing person and get listened to. So why has it taken so long. Maybe they believed it was a wild animal? Or they could have been busy with something more important. 'What if it's the twins?' I panic. No Lia, don't worry, Jeremy is quite capable of looking after two sick toddlers. And they've got Paige if they need any spells or witch remedies making. They don't need you. And Jeremy wouldn't have let you go if he really cared about you. It's because you're different, unique, a hybrid, an-an _OUTCAST!_ That's what you are Lia, someone who doesn't fit in with any group, you're not a werewolf, not a witch, not Pack, not in the Coven. You don't belong anywhere, just in the middle.

I tell my inner voice to shut up and just focus on the task ahead of me. Ash needs as many articles as he can get for the magazine so he can become an editor. 'Think of him Lia, think of him and not yourself for a change.' Growls my inner voice. I wonder idly whether this is just my conscience acting up. Great, twenty years without it and it has to start to kick in right when I don't want it. Where was it when I was deciding between the Coven and the Pack?

I growl again mentally for letting my mind wander again. Sophie and I turn the last corner to the cinema. The stench of flesh and blood reminds me that I haven't changed in a while and haven't hunted any bunnies in at least two weeks. Yum… bunnies. I really don't know how Sophie can be a vegetarian, I mean _no bunnies! _How can you live? Damn my wandering mind!

Sophie giggles.

'What are you laughing at?' I ask, my mind still on bunnies.

'That guy is staring at you.' She giggles again.

I follow her gaze and don't see anyone looking our way. 'Guy? What gu-.' I smell him before I see him. A couple move and there he is. Tall, blonde and terrifying. Clayton. And he's looking right at me, the same look in his eyes that he has right before he kills a troublesome mutt.


	3. Chapter 2

**Three things:**

**1. Thanks to _shewolf13, orangeraindrop, milliebff and ashes2dust18 _for reveiwing on the last Chapter. :)**

**2. Sorry this took so long i ened up writing a lot of this at school so i also had to type it up meaning i took twice as long.**

**2. sorry about the bad grammer on the last chapter i didnt bother to check it properly. i think i did better this time (well i hope) ;)**

**R&R plz** **and enjoy**

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><p>'Can we please go?' I choke to Sophie.<p>

'Lia, are you okay?' she asks sounding worried.

'I'm fine, I just want to go. Like you said Ash will understand.' I turn to face her, but keep Clayton in sight.

Sophie studies my face for a moment before nodding. I don't know what my expression is but she's scared. She knows I'm scared and that's what scares her. Normally, I'm the calm one, the one that can dissect a frog without hesitation. Not today though, today I'm scared for my life. I turn by back to Clayton and head for my car. Sophie is beside me, her eyes darting left and right as if expecting someone to jump out from behind a bush and attack us. She doesn't need to worry. Anyone who does try to attack her I can knock out cold in a heartbeat. And if they want me then they're most likely Pack and I know that Jeremy would never allow the Pack to take out a mutt that's with a human (in this case there are about a hundred of them all trying to see the scene of the crime). I'm still being careful though, just in case.

I try my best not to get jostled too much in the crowd but end up getting knocked into, at most, five times. Each time I growl quietly not liking the contact. When we've finally reached the car park I'd parked in earlier I breathe a sigh of relief at its emptiness.

'At last, I never thought we'd make it out of there alive,' laughs Sophie. I laugh with her thinking about how close it could have been to us both not living through that. I shiver at the idea.

'Some one's cold. Hurry up and open the door before we both turn into ice cubes.'

I nod and reach into my pocket for my keys. They're not there. I check my other pocket, they're not there either. I check the rest of my pockets and my bag still not finding my keys.

'Did I give you my keys?' I ask Sophie while I search.

'No, you put them in your left pocket.'

'But I've checked there and they aren't in there,' I put my hand in my empty pocket and pull it inside out. 'See?'

'Well then they probably fell out with the help of that huge hole,' Sophie says crossing her arms.

'Hole?' I ask. I look down at my pocket and there it is. The hole I'd discovered yesterday after my snack bar went missing. I had meant to sew it up but hadn't gotten round to it yet. I curse quietly. 'They could be anywhere!' I moan throwing my hands up.

'Maybe they fell out when you got knocked into by that big guy on the way back,' suggests Sophie.

I shiver remembering him. He had been huge! Probably over six foot and with huge muscles. He scared me.

'Pup!' mocks my inner voice. I ignore its insult.

'I'll go back and look. Wait here for me.' I'm nearly seven months younger than Sophie but she still listens to me. When I ask her why she doesn't just tell me to go to hell when I tell her to do something she said that I 'have the authority in my voice and in the way I say things'. Her words, not mine. I don't like being in charge though, that's Jeremy's job.

'That _was_ Jeremy's job. You're in charge now,' says my inner voice smugly.

I tell it to shut up and leave me alone and of course, it being my inner voice, it tells me to… well it isn't something very pleasant. The pavement to the cinema is deserted now.

'How damned typical,' I mutter to myself as I walk. I continue to bitch and moan while looking for my car keys. When I finally see a flash of silver it's just a crisp packet. Being the environment friendly person I am…

'Yeah right,' scoffs my inner voice. I ignore it, pick up the rubbish and look for a bin to put it in. Muttering to myself again, I shove it in my pocket then put it in my other pocket that hasn't got a hole in it. I continue to search for my keys.

'This is hopeless!' says my inner voice. 'Just go back and snap the lock, it's not _that _hard to do,'

Great idea, Sophie will never notice anything weird about that.

My inner voice growls at me. I mentally snarl back. I like to think that I scared it but I doubt I did as instead it just laughs at me. I take one more look around before giving up. Sophie has her phone, we'd ring Ash and see if he could pick us up.

'Any luck?' asks Sophie as I approach her.

'No. Do you think Ash could pick us up?' I reply, annoyed at not finding my keys.

'Good idea. You have got your phone right?'

'No, I thought you brought yours.'

I didn't bring mine 'cause I thought you was bringing yours.'

'That's it! We're stuffed!' I say stamping my foot. Sophie carries her phone everywhere, so it's just typical that on the one occasion that we really need it she didn't bother to bring it. I have a phone, and yes I suppose I should have thought to bring it, but I rarely ever use it. Call me prehistoric but they annoy me. If you need to talk to someone then why not go to them or wait until they get back. The urgency of not knowing what colour to paint your toenails (_cough _Sophie _cough_) is lost on me. I think I get my phone disliking from Jeremy. He can be sat next to a phone and not bother answering it.

'Stop thinking about him!' yells my inner voice.

Shut up! I stamp my foot again.

Sophie raises an eyebrow at me. 'C'mon, we'll have to walk. It's not _that _far.'

As it turns out it _is that far_. A ten minute car journey takes a lot longer on foot, surprising Sophie. I don't mind the walk, it's a good way for me to burn off some of my extra energy. Sophie, however, keeps up a string of complaints nearly the whole way, only stopping briefly when I remind her that this was her idea. When we reach the collage it's starting to get dark.

'There you two are,' greets Ash as we step inside the dorm. 'I got your article Lia and it's fine without the extra research you've no doubt just done.'

'I haven't done any extra research,' I reply ignoring Sophie's 'I told you so' look. Ash stares at me surprised. 'I was going to but I changed my mind.'

'Then why are you back so late?' his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

'Lia lost her keys,' volunteers Sophie.

'You should have rung me,' says Ash in his serious voice.

'Sophie didn't have her phone,' I say before she can stop me.

'And Lia didn't have hers,' Sophie grins at me wickedly. I roll my eyes.

'So you walked here? From town?' questions Ash, his eyes flashing.

'Yep,' Sophie makes a popping noise on the p and smiles at Ash not realising that he's pissed off with us, or more accurately me.

'Well that was stupid,' he nearly yells making Sophie jump two feet in the air. 'In case the pair of you haven't noticed there's a wild animal out there somewhere, maybe even two!'

'I do know that Ash. I've been the one getting you the reports about it as no one else would,' I say coldly.

Ash's face pales slightly as he realises what he'd just said. I don't normally work for the collage magazine and had only agreed after every one of his normal reporters had turned him down twice. I hadn't wanted anything to do with it. I as the new girl and still trying to settle down and get to grips with the fact that I really am no longer Pack. But Ash had been nice about it and said that if I ever got uncomfortable then I could quit. I had told him I'm not a quitter but I don't think he believed me so he's been careful to not give me too much criticism, no matter how many times I've asked for it, scared that if he's to hard on me then I'd stop writing for the magazine.

I watch as Ash recovers and wait for him to finish his rant. 'Exactly, so you should have known better. You know how dangerous this thing is, it could have killed you!'

'It wouldn't have attacked us,' I say brushing away the worry with a wave of my hand.

'How do you know that?' Ash challenges me.

I open my mouth to argue back then shut it again. Animals don't like werewolves, they see a human but smell something else. If it is a wild animal that's been killing these people (which it isn't, it's a mutt I'm sure of it) then it would have taken one sniff of me then ran away tail between its legs. I can't tell Ash this so instead I keep my mouth shut.

'Exactly, you don't know whether it would have attack you,' says Ash triumphantly. He looks at me for a moment. 'Where did you leave the car?'

Sophie gives him the directions to the car park that has my abandoned car in it. We then watch as he leaves in his truck to tow it back for me. Sophie yawns widely and I smile.

'Go to bed. I need to wait for Ash to get back,' I say gently.

Sophie nods and heads to our room. As soon as she's gone I go to the vending machine. Werewolves have a high metabolism which means we have to eat more than humans, well apart from some of the guys in my Biology class. I normally have a similar sized meal to whoever I'm dining with then get more later. I've also gotten into the habit of having a few snack bars in my pocket for during the day. I get my snack and go into the dorm media room. Our media room has selves of books, three computers, a nineteen inch television and some comfy chairs around an electric fireplace. I pick up the book I had been reading earlier and settle onto the couch. I'm not expecting any interruptions as it's Saturday night and most students are out at the club two miles away. I eat my snack and continue to read. I remember starting page 326 but fall asleep before I can finish it.

I wake up and see Ash trying to sneak out the room.

'What are you doing?' I ask sitting up. A blanket falls off me. I stare at it for a moment before realising that Ash had probably laid it over me when he found me asleep. I take a deep breath and smell his scent on the blanket. I love Ash's scent it reminds me of the forest, something I miss a lot even though I've found a small woodland area on the other side of the city.

'Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up,' Ash says, smiling his crooked smile that always manages to stop my breath.

'It's fine. You should have woken me up though.' I pat the space beside me.

Hesitantly, he sits down. I turn to lean on the arm rest, legs crossed, so I can face him and talk to him properly. 'Thanks for getting my car, I really appreciate it.'

Ash nods and looks around.

'Sophie went to bed, she was tired.'

He nods again.

'I'm sorry,' I whisper.

'You should be,' replies Ash harshly.

I turn my head away from him. He sighs.

'I was worried about you. When you weren't back by six I started to panic. Then when I found out you'd walked back I instantly imagined the worst.' He pauses as if deciding whether or not to say something. 'I care about you Lia, you're a good friend, a really good friend.'

'A good friend, see you mean next to nothing to him,' says my inner voice. I nearly growl out loud at it.

'I know you don't like getting close to people,' says Ash I turn to face him. How could he possibly know that? It's true, but I haven't told anyone. 'Maybe it has something to do with whatever happened between you and your family in New York and maybe it's not even any of my business but I want you to realise that there are people here that care for you.'

'You're right,' I say.

'I am?' asks Ash surprised.

'Uh huh. It _is _none of your business.' Ash scowls at me as I say that. 'And maybe I am scared of getting to close to people, that's not my fault. But I know where this conversation is going so I'm going to tell you now that I'm not going to New York to see any one, nor am I going to ring anyone who lives there.'

'You said maybe to Sophie,' points out Ash.

'When have you two been talking about me?' I demand.

'She rang me when she went to bed. We're worried about you.'

'Well I'm fine so you can stop worrying.'

'Lia-'

'I've made up my mind Ash, I'm not going to see my _family_ again. As far as I'm concerned they mean nothing to me.' I stand up and so does Ash.

'I doubt that whatever happened is worth you completing losing contact over,' says Ash sternly.

'And if it is?'

'I know it isn't.'

'Then you don't know anything,' I say harshly before pushing past him and heading to my room. As I pass Ash's room I dump his blanket on his bed. Sean, Ash's identical twin brother and roommate, looks at me.

'So did he ask you?' Sean asks before I can leave.

'He didn't have to. I knew what his question would be.' I reply shortly.

'So are going?' he asks brushing his black hair out of his eyes. When I say identical I mean it, Ash does the same when he's getting impatient. It's annoying, especially as it means he can use the power of his eyes on me. They're big and brown and…

'Snap out of it Lia!' my inner voice growls. No need to tell me twice.

'No I'm not going!' I say. 'And can you please tell your brother to stop discussing my private life with you as it's not even any of his business!'

'What are you talking about?'

'I'm talking about Ash asking me to go to New York. Why? What were you talking about?'

'I was talking about Ash asking you out on a date.'

'Ash was going to ask me out?' I repeat in shock.

'Yeah _was _being the key word there,' says a voice behind me. I turn to face Ash. 'Thanks for returning the blanket, bye.'

He pushes me out the room then slams the door shut. Ash was going to ask me out AND I COMPLETELY BLEW IT! I whip round to punch the wall behind me. I stop myself just in time remembering that although I would get no more than a raised eyebrow at Stonehaven, here I would get a lot more. I storm to my room. Before I enter I try to calm down so as not top wake Sophie up. She may have been talking about me behind my back but she's still my friend and she only did what she thought was right. I open the door silently and slip inside. She's not even in here. Her bed's not made though so she probably just went to use the bathroom. I reach under my pillow to get my pyjamas. I yank them out a little more roughly then I normally would and get a surprise when I piece of paper flies out. I throw the pyjamas on my bed and pick up the paper from the floor. I turn it over to see what's on it. I take one look at the picture printed there and stop breathing.


	4. Chapter 3

**Thanks to _shewolf13, orangeraindrop and lucymort _for reveiwing on the last chapter. **

**this chapter's a bit longer than the others that i've done but i hope u still like it. R&R plz.**

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><p>When Clayton was a little younger than I am now Stonehaven was having a mutt problem. Clayton, being Clayton, had taken matters into his own hands. He had cut up and battered one of the intruding mutts and taken a photo. The mutt's companion had then shared out copies of the photo to other mutts. That's how Clayton got his reputation, mutts are terrified of him and more importantly what he is capable of doing to them. When Nick first told me this story I had wanted to see a copy of the photo out of curiosity, Jeremy had refused saying it's not something I wanted to see. Looking at the copy of the photo in my hands now I think I agree.<p>

I stare at it for a moment longer, my brain unable to concentrate on anything but the photo, before coming back to my senses. Suddenly, I'm furious. They think that they can threaten me? Well I haven't done anything, I'm not a man-eater. Just because I'm the only mutt in the state doesn't prove anything, I mean it's not like my scent is at every murder scene.

'But your scent is though isn't it?' says my inner voice annoyingly.

Then I realise, I've investigated every attack to write my articles for Ash, my scent has been at even single site. Oh shit! The Pack has evidence and all of it leads to me, again oh shit! I catch a flash of movement out the window. In a second I'm there, yanking back the curtains and peering into the darkness. I see Clayton's back as he hurries out of sight having underestimated my speed again. Clayton may be the strongest but I'm the fastest, something he regularly forgets. I look at the photo of the mutt once more before ripping it up and throwing it in the bin. I haven't done anything and I'm going to prove that to them even if it kills me, which it might possibly do.

-1 week later-

_5 more minutes until spring break!_

**I know, that's all you've been talking about since the start of the lesson.**

_Calm Lia, I'm just really excited. Is your uncle still coming?_

**Yes.**

_What's wrong? You do want him to come don't you?_

**Nothing's wrong, I'm fine. Not particularly but I need to talk to him.**

_What did you say his name was again?_

**Karl, he's my father's brother.**

_Are you going to make it up with the rest of them as well?_

**Sophie I… **

_Are you going back to New York? Do you want to? Have you spoken to Ash? Are you still going to ask him out tonight?_

I snatch the sheet of paper away from Sophie.

'What?' she mouths to me.

She's been asking too many hard questions, and they are hard questions because I can't give an honest answer to any of them. I just shake my head at her and mouth 'later'. She nods in agreement and looks at the clock as if she's willing it to go faster. I look at the empty page in front of me. We're supposed to be taking notes but Sophie has been talking to me instead. Out the corner of my eye I see Sophie's head turn back to the front. I grab my pen and start to scribble down what the teacher's saying. Sophie sighs when she sees that I'm listening to the teachers lecture about cells that I learned about from Clayton when I was ten.

Tonight I'm meeting up with Karl Marsten, a member of the Pack by convenience more than choice. If anyone will help me then it would be Karl. He used to be a mutt and a thief, he still is a thief but anyway, meaning that he can steal information for me. Do I trust him? No way, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And I am desperate (not that I'll admit that to anyone). There was another attack a few days ago. They're getting more frequent and whoever is doing this either doesn't know about the Pack or doesn't know that they're here. Or maybe they just think that they're safe as long as I continue to get the blame and they don't expect me to fight back. Werewolves really are sexist, I think with a mental sigh.

The bell rings and Sophie jumps about two feet in the air. I bite back chuckle as I pack my biology books into my bag.

'So what's your answer?' asks Sophie once she's calmed down.

'My answer?' I say confused. Sophie shoves the paper we were writing on in my face. 'Oh, those answers.'

'So?'

I don't answer and walk out the door. Sophie falls into step beside me easily. She looks down at our notes and clears her throat.

'Are you going to make it up with your family?' she asks making me groan inwardly. Why can't she just drop it?

'I don't know but I doubt it.'

'Are you going back to New Yo-'

'No,' I interrupt. 'And I don't want to either.'

'Have you spoken to Ash?'

'He told me I was blocking his locker yesterday,' I say hopefully, you really do feel like your back in High School sometimes with Sophie.

'Doesn't count,' I knew that.

'Of course you did Lia, just keep telling yourself that,' I nearly bang my head on the wall as my inner voice speaks up.

'Are you still going to ask him out?' continues Sophie.

'Ask who out?' asks Ash joining us as we approach our lockers.

'Your brother,' replies Sophie trying to get her key to turn in the lock. I push her hands aside and give the key a sharp twist hopefully not breaking the lock. Sophie pulls the door open. I check the lock, thank gosh it's fine.

'My brother?' asks Ash confused.

'Yeah remember we were talking about setting Ash and Lia up yesterday,' whispers Sophie loud enough for me to hear with my superman hearing.

'Oh god!' moans my inner voice. I grin inwardly at the fact that I can now successfully piss it off.

'I think I need to talk to my brother,' says Ash darkly. He glances over at me.

'I've been just as clueless as you, Ash,' I say putting up my hands in surrender.

'Ash?' squeaks Sophie.

'Hi Sophie,' grins Ash. He turns to me. 'So what are you doing later?'

'Nothing at the moment, why?'

'You wanna go get something to eat later?' One thing that I like about Ash is that he's not scared to look you in the eye. I admire him for that.

'Yeah, sure. Say half sevenish?'

'Sounds good. I'll see you then, we can take my truck into town.'

'Kay.'

Ash smiles crookedly before leaving me and a gob smacked Sophie. I giggle at her expression.

'Were you and Sean really planning on setting us up?' I ask curiously.

'Yes, but I guess you didn't need our help.' I watch as Sophie stuffs her books into her overcrowded locker. I catch a paperback as it falls without Sophie's notice. I look at the title - '20 ways to get your friends together' – and open it to the contents page.

**Dropping hints. ** (Sophie's done that)

**Encouraging social outings. **(Sophie asked me if I wanted to join Ash's book club on Tuesday)

**Highlighting similarities.** (Sophie pointed out that Ash and me are taking English Literature)

**Getting them near each other.** (Yesterday, Sophie shoved me into Ash)

**Giving them alone time.** (Sophie tried and failed. There was a back exit)

'I hope you didn't buy this book, I mean none of its methods worked!' I say casually flipping to the front page. 'Good you got it from a library,' I add when I see the paper that libraries stick on their books.

'Where did you get that?' asks Sophie.

'It fell out of your locker,' I explain as I put it on top of her book pile.

'It did work.' Sophie shuts her locker before everything can fall out again. 'You and Ash are going on a date later.'

'If Karl doesn't kill me first,' I mutter under my breath as we walk down the corridor and out the building. We walk to our room in silence.

'Are you mad at me?' asks Sophie getting her work clothes out the wardrobe. 'About me setting you and Ash up?'

'No, I'm not mad. I wish you hadn't done it, or tried to, but I'm not mad at you or Sean,' I lie smoothly. The truth is that I am angry at them for going behind my back and interfering with things.

'Good. So what are you wearing tonight?'

'Ummm… Jeans?'

'No way! I'm not going to let my best friend go on her first date in jeans!' Sophie nearly screams. She looks in the wardrobe for something that she would wear to a first date. After five minutes of hunting she pulls out a beautiful turquoise dress with a low neckline.

'I'm not wearing that to a coffee shop,' I say after staring at the dress for well over a minute. 'I'm wearing jeans.'

'But –'

'Don't you have a job to go to?'

'Damn!' curses Sophie running out the door, dropping the dress on the bed.

I pick it up carefully and hang it up again. I grab my dark skinny jeans and the dark purple shirt Ash had commented on a few weeks ago. My pair of ballet flats, some light make-up and a necklace makes me look probably not Sophie-first-date approved but I'm sure Ash will like it. I spend the next half an hour trying to get my hair presentable. I end up just plaiting it loosely down my back. There ready.

I park my car outside McDonalds and scan the inside. I spot Karl nearly instantly, he's the best looking thing in there dressed in his normal designer clothes. I get out and take a deep breath trying to pick out any familiar scents. Nothing apart from Karl. I scan the parking lot for danger, call me paranoid and I won't disagree but I don't fancy getting Pack attacked here, in McDonalds' car park right before my date with Ash. When I'm confident that no one from the Pack is here, other than Karl, is when I go inside. I go straight over to where Karl is sitting by the window. He looks me over and raises an eyebrow before gesturing to the seat beside him. I sit down across from him instead making him give a half smile.

'I hope you didn't get dressed up just for me,' he says looking me over again.

'I have a date later,' I reply gritting my teeth together.

'Did you drop something?' he asks looking over to my car. 'You took your time.'

'I'm a wanted woman, Karl, you know how it is.'

He nods thoughtfully. 'I'll get us something to eat.' He stands up.

'No tomatoes,' is all I say making a face.

'I remember.' Karl knows what I want without asking. I sit and watch him as he orders our food. I'm eating now and then again with Ash later, it's easier that way. 'I thought we could sit outside and talk,' he says reaching the table with a tray of food. I hesitate before nodding. This time of the year no one eats outside which means that we'll be able to talk without people overhearing but also in sight if the Pack tries anything. I follow him out and to a bench a few meters away from the door, right in front of a window. I sit down and take my Big Mac out. We eat in silence both to busy with food to make conversation.

'What time do you need to leave?' asks Karl faking consideration.

'Seven,' I reply shortly. He nods and eats another chip. Silence falls again until we're both finished.

'Why did you want to meet me?' Karl demands.

'I need some information that only you can get for me.'

'What information?' Karl's voice is guarded and wary.

'I need to know what mutts have recently been in the area or have been known to kill here.'

'And you think I can get it.'

'I thought that you would be the easiest to … convince to help me prove my innocence as you're the only Pack member that was once a mutt.' I pause, waiting for him to reply. 'Will you help me?' I ask when he doesn't answer.

'Some members of the Pack are sceptical about whether you have become a man-eater or not. I will help you Lia, but I do expect to be paid for my services.'

'Paid?' I ask. Shit, I hadn't thought of a way to pay him.

'Yes, nothing is free in this world. Why don't we say a hundred dollars? Fifty now then fifty when I've given you the information.'

I think about it for a minute. A hundred dollars, that's nearly half of my savings, but if I don't prove to the Pack that I'm not a threat I won't be alive to spend those savings. I reach into my purse and pull out two twenties and a ten. I slam them down on the table. 'Deal.'

Karl smiles at me. 'Good to do business with you.' He rises almost gracefully. I scramble up after him. 'I'll call you when I have the information,' he calls over his shoulder as he walks towards the car park leaving me to clean up, typical Karl.

I throw the rubbish away and walk over to my car. A shadow of movement in the bushes by my car catches my eye. I take a deep breath and nearly stop walking. Damn you Karl, you had back up.

'Well what else did you expect, pup?' screams my inner voice. 'Pup' has become its newest and best insult. I consider turning round and sitting back down at out bench but I'm late, it's nearly quarter past seven. I take another step towards my car and nearly jump when my inner vice snarls at me.

'Go find someone else to annoy!' I tell it. Instead it just snarls at me again. I continue to my car and fumble with my new set of keys once I get there. Finally, I open the door and dart inside before a wolf, or more accurately werewolf, attacks me. I hear a wolfy chuckle from the bush.

'Bastard,' I say loud enough for it to hear. The chuckling stops immediately and is replaced by a very human sounding snickering. I reverse the car out, ignoring the bushes and drive back to the university.

Ash's POV

I watch as her car turns the corner into the parking lot. Sophie had said that she was meeting her uncle today but should still be back in time for our date. Our date. I smile to myself, I like the sound of that. Lia jumps out her car and half runs towards the dorm door not seeing me.

'Are you okay?' I shout making her jump. That's strange, nothing scares Lia and mean nothing. Well she doesn't like fire but I wouldn't say she's scared of that. I could ask her but she wouldn't tell me, she doesn't talk to people about that kind of stuff. I guess it has something to do with the incident in New York.

'Hi, sorry I'm late. My meeting with Karl over ran,' she explains, walking over to me and twisting a lock of hair around her finger like she does when she's nervous. She stops in front of me and I get a good look at her, she's wearing jeans, a dark top and a matching choker necklace (I only know my necklace types because I have a little sister, honest). She's plaited her dark orange hair in a loose braid down her back. 'She looks beautiful,' I think.

'It's fine, I'm probably early,' I grin still watching her twist her hair. I wish I could catch her fingers and make her stop. I wish I could ask her what's wrong and why she's nervous. She doesn't like it when I do that kind of thing though. When I reveal just how much I notice her and how much I know about her personality and fears and wants. I think it scares her. Another mystery I'm trying to solve. 'So how did your meeting go?'

'Fine, we got a drink and talked.'

'I'm glad it went so well, are you ready to go or do you need a few minutes?'

'I'm ready to go when you are,' she smiles at me and her eyes light up. I smile back at her. She always reminds me of a puppy when she smiles.

I lead her to my truck and sigh quietly. She looks at me, worried and confused. That's another thing I've noticed about her, she car hear nearly anything. If you mutter something she hears it word perfect and if you bang something she winces. Maybe she just inherited good hearing? 'I wish I could take you out in a posh car instead of this piece of crap.' I kick the tyre of my old truck.

'I like your truck, it feels… homey,' replies Lia smiling again. We get in and I drive us into town. On the way we talk about things like school, work, the magazine and what we're going to be doing over the next couple of weeks. When Lia lets slip that she will be staying on campus over the holiday I can't resist asking why.

'Why are you staying here?' I ask.

Her lips tighten ever so slightly, the relaxed look is replaced by her twisting her hair again. 'Because I am.'

'What about your Uncle? Karl was his name wasn't it?'

'I can't go to Karl because that would mean I have to see my family which I'm not doing,' she says she doesn't want to but sometimes her voice implies that she's not aloud or that she knows more than she's saying. I noticed that she did that with the article she wrote the day we argued about her walking from town. Mystery number two: why does she keep so many secrets?

'Oh,' I reply back, stupidly. We sit in silence for the rest of the journey.

I park the truck outside the coffee shop and turn to face Lia. 'I'm sorry.'

'For what?' she says turning to face me a slight dreamy look in her eye that makes me wonder what train of thought I disrupted.

'For trying to make you do things you don't want to do, for yelling at you when you do something I wouldn't have done, for asking you questions you don't want to answer… Do I need to go on?'

She smiles at me. 'I don't think I heard all of that, think you could say it again so I can make sure I heard right?'

'Not a chance,' I laugh. I open my door and get out. I look behind me and see her reflection in the shop window. She says something to quiet for me to hear.

'I'm sorry too.' I think that's what she says. I don't ask worried I'll upset her.

I smile to myself as I walk round the other side of my truck where she's waiting for me. She looks at me curiously for a second before shaking her head slightly and smiling back at me. We enter the shop and find a table for two near the front window. The shop's busy enough that we don't have to worry about eavesdroppers but not so crowded that it's too noisy or full. When the server comes we order food and drink. I don't know why it's called a coffee shop when it only sells coffee until twelve but Lia likes it here so I'm not complaining.

'Ash, do you like me?' asks Lia after the server takes away out empty plates.

'Yes,' I say without hesitating. Lia smiles when I answer too quickly.

'I need you to know something,' she says. 'I can't be honest with you. No matter how close we get I can never be completely honest with you. I'll understand if that changes your mind.'

I stare at her for a moment. 'Why?'

'Because…' she stops as if she doesn't know what to say next. 'Because I promised not to tell anyone and because if I tell people some things then the people I made the promise to may be in danger and so might the people I tell the truth to.' She looks at me. 'If that's not too confusing.'

'I think I understand. You're scared of what I might do if you let yourself get to close to me. The people you promised is yourself right?' she hesitates then nods. 'I won't hurt you Lia and maybe one day you'll believe that but either way I'm not leaving.'

'Thank you,' she says smiling. The server comes again to get our glasses. He reaches over Lia to get hers.

'Careful, your sleeves caught on my bracelet!' warns Lia as the server pulls back and breaks the gold chain.

'I'm so sorry miss,' he apologizes as Lia ducks under the table to gather the charms that had fallen.

'Could you get us some string please?' I ask him.

'String?'

'Yes to tie the charms back together.

'Oh, of course.' He hurries away as I join Lia under the table.

'How many are there?' I ask as we resurface. I pick up the piece of sting that the server had left and hand it to her. I hadn't realised he'd come back.

'I have twenty, one every birthday,' she replies threading the charms onto the string counting them. I'm surprised that she gives the extra information normally she will just answer the question. I smile inwardly in vain hope that maybe she was starting to believe me when I say that I care about her and that she can tell me anything. 'There's one missing,' she says.

'Which one?'

'It's shaped like a car,' Lia goes under the table again to search. I join her. Whatever the car represents to her is something important, her expression had given her away. We search for about five minutes before giving up.

'It doesn't matter, at least I still have the rest of them,' she smiles half heartedly.

'Wait here a second,' I tell her standing up. I walk over the counter and ask the woman serving there if she could tell the cleaners to keep an eye out for a charm in the shape of a car. I slip her a ten as well for good measure. She assures me that she will and I leave her my number. I walk back to our table.

'You ready to go?' I ask Lia.

'You didn't have to that,' she tells me getting up.

I shrug, not wanting to say anything that could upset her. We leave and walk to the car in silence.

'So where do we stand?' I ask her to break the near awkward silence.

'We aren't, we're sitting in your car,' says Lia.

I roll my eyes. 'I mean-'

'I know what you meant,' she interrupts. 'Earlier you said you like me, well I like you too. And I would like it if we went out again sometime.'

'I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.' I stop awkwardly. 'So does this mean it's official?' I park the car in the university car park.

Lia looks at me thoughtfully. 'No.' my face falls. 'But this does.'

She leans in and presses her lips to mine, teasing me. I kiss her back. I feel her lips smile against mine. She wraps her arms around my neck and tries to part my lips. When I don't let her she pulls away, pouting. I chuckle and kiss her again, this time taking control and making sure I don't hold back. I've made out with lots of girls over the years but none of them compared to this. I shift slightly and _BEEP!_ We both jump apart.

'Sorry, I leaned on the horn,' I apologize sheepishly. 'Maybe my truck isn't the best place to make out.'

She laughs softly and looks out the window. 'It's getting late, Sophie will be wondering where I am.'

I nod, upset that we have to say goodbye already. She notices my expression and laughs again.

'We'll see each other tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that,' she assures me as she gets out.

I also get out and meet her at the front of the truck. 'I'm glad of that.'

We walk to her room hand in hand talking quietly. When we reach her room she stands on her tiptoes to try and reach my lips, I'm taller than her by a good two inches. I lean down and press my lips to hers for a second before pulling back.

'I'll see you tomorrow,' I whisper, smiling.

'Until tomorrow then,' Lia whispers back. She turns around and enters her room carefully in case Sophie's asleep. As soon as she's closed the door I can hear Sophie asking Lia question after question. I walk down the hall still smiling. I stop outside mine and Sean's room, checking if Sean's awake, I don't normally but Lia does for Sophie and it seems like good idea. He isn't awake so I enter and change quietly so as not to wake him up. Then I lie down and close my eyes. As soon as I do the only thing I can see is Lia's blue eyes when she looked at me after I pulled away from her in my truck. 'She's mine,' I think greedily before falling asleep.


	5. The Car Accident

**This is the first of a few short stories about Lia's past, i'm not sure whether to put them in every few chapters or should i wait until the end? Please tell which u think is better cuz i cant decide. **

**Thanks to _shewolf13 _and _ohiooriginal1 _for reveiwing on the last chapter. R&R plz! :)**

* * *

><p>I bang on the door loudly and wait for someone to answer.<p>

'Momma?' murmurs Lia sleepily. I bend down to her height.

'Don't worry, we're just going to see some friends of mine,' I smile and she nods rubbing her eyes. I bang on the door again, please don't let them have moved away, please.

'Someone's coming,' says Lia leaning against me.

I nod and strain my ears, unable to hear anything. A shadow moves across one of the front windows making me tighten my grip on Lia's shoulder. I glance around us nervously to check that Theyaren't here. I hear faint shuffling the other side of the door and hold my breath. The door swings open and standing there is an old smiling woman.

'Cassie! It's been years,' she says ushering us both in and leading us into the living room. She smiles sweetly at Lia, causing her to flinch.

'Hello Ruth, I need your help,' I get straight down to business.

'Of course, Paige dear go put the kettle on and get…'

'Lia,' I say, introducing my daughter.

'Lia a drink,' Ruth finishes and smiles at Lia again. She smiles back shyly this time. 'Paige?'

'I'm coming,' yells a voice from upstairs. A minute later stands a short witch, maybe about eighteen, nineteen maybe. She's pulling back her curly hair into a ponytail showing bright green eyes. She reminds me of a younger Ruth except from what I can remember Paige has always been a bit more…impetuous.

'Get Lia here a drink and put the kettle on for us as well.'

Paige nods and leads Lia out. When she tries to take her hand Lia easily dodges around her and keeps walking. I bite back a smile as I watch her wolf instincts show.

'You said that you needed my help?' says Ruth politely.

'Have you got a spare room? It's past Lia's bedtime,' I reply, this isn't a conversation I want Lia to overhear, she's too young.

'Oh, of course. We have a cot in the spare room for when some of the younger girls stay the night.'

Paige walks in holding a tray with two mugs of tea, sugar, milk and biscuits. Lia walks in after her drinking from a water bottle.

'Thank you. Could you take Lia upstairs into the spare room and keep an eye on her for Cassie?' Ruth picks up a mug and adds milk and sugar. I leave my mug where it is.

'But I'm not tired,' yawns Lia.

'We have a lot to do tomorrow hun, you need to at least try to sleep,' I look her in the eye. While most three year olds would break contact straight away, Lia doesn't. This, however, I can't put down to her wolf instincts considering she inherited her stubbornness from me. 'I'll come wake you up before we leave,' I promise.

'But-' protests Lia putting on her hurt puppy face.

'No buts go upstairs with Paige.'

'Fine. But only because I like Paige, she gave me a wolf bottle!' Lia shows me the picture on the side of the bottle and she's right, of course. A blonde wolf has been drawn lying down in a permanent marker pen. I notice some of the same colour ink on Paige's hand, hmmm what a coincidence. I wait until I hear the door bang closed upstairs before speaking.

'I took part in an experiment, and experiment that I shouldn't have. They did something to Lia, they – they bit her-'

'Bit her?' interrupts Ruth.

'Do you believe in werewolves?' I question her.

'Werewolves used to have a place on the council many years before I was born. I've found some references to them in some of the old recordings. They're truly fascinating – not that you're here to hear about that. My apologies please continue,' she says, grinning sheepishly.

'There was a werewolf involved in the experiment and he bit her. Lia is half werewolf and half witch. They said that they needed to do some experiments on her, blood tests, x-rays, sensory tests that kind of thing. Then I found out how much experimenting They were doing on her. They performed operations on her for no reason, they tweaked her genes, I don't know how the hell she can have blue eyes, but she wasn't born like that. They said it was science, it was evil. I escaped before they could really hurt her. But now They're after us Ruth and if they capture us again I'm scared I won't be there to protect Lia anymore.'

'The Coven can't give you protection, Cassie. The Elders will never allow that kind of danger threaten us.'

'I'm not asking for the Coven's protection, I'm asking for you to look after Lia for me.' Ruth opens her mouth to speak but I keep going. 'I have a plan, I can make Them believe that Lia is with me and then They will follow me and won't suspect a thing.'

'And if They do figure out that you've tricked them?'

'They won't and even if They do They won't look too closely at Lia.'

'Why not?' asks Ruth. I shuffle uncomfortably in my seat. If I tell her then one of the many secrets protecting Lia will be gone, but if I don't tell Ruth then Lia may never know.

'I changed her name last year. Her real name is Amber Jayne Long.'

'Changing her name won't help much, how many half witch, half werewolves do you think are out there?'

'Did you know that she's a werewolf when we walked through the doors?'

'No, but you said that they have a werewolf, surly he'll recognise the scent or-'

'He died,' I tell her flatly. 'Please Ruth. I can't do this on my own.'

Ruth looks me in the eye and asks: 'Who are They Cassie?'

'I can't tell you without knowing that you'll be safe if I do.'

Ruth nods thoughtfully, accepting this before looking at me again. 'What do we do when Lia needs to, um, to-'

'When Lia has to Change? She needs Change every Sunday, maybe she can more often but it's easier only once a week. Now listen, when she Changes you have to leave her, you can't try to intervene, and when she's Changed you must leave her alone. I normally lock her in the spare bedroom.'

Ruth looks at me disgusted at what I just said.

'I don't know what to do Ruth, I don't know what she's capable of. It's the only way I could think of to keep both her and me safe,' I admit putting my head in my hands.

'Have you thought of trying to find other werewolves?' Ruth asks me putting her arm round me.

'I'm scared. I mean how do I know that they'll protect her?' I look out the window. It's nearly pitch black outside. 'Will you look after her for me Ruth?'

'Yes, as best I can.'

'Thank you.' I hand her a bag with Lia's things in. 'There is also her birth certificate, forged with her new name on of course, and,' I reach into my pocket, 'I want you to give her this, as a fourth birthday present.' I give Ruth a gold charm in the shape of a car. 'it's to go on her charm bracelet.' I stand up.

Ruth nods again and also rises. She leads me to the front door and hugs me. 'Look after yourself dear,' she murmurs in my ear.

'And you,' I say opening the door as quietly as I can. 'Also, Ruth, don't tell anyone about Lia, not even the Elders.' I leave before she can answer or argue.

I cast the glamour spell on a doll that I had bought earlier to make it look like Lia and walk briskly to my car, watching the shadows the whole way. When I get to where I'd parked it at the end of Ruth's road. I carefully put the doll in Lia's booster seat as if she were my sleeping daughter, then get in the seat. Earlier I had spilt petrol in the car and left a pack of matches in the glove department. To most people this will just be anouther freak car accident that kills a mother and child, but to Them it will be defience, They can't have my daughter and I'll make sure of that. My hands shaking I take the matchbox out and light a flame. I look at the house and see Lia's face pale and screaming against the window.

'I love you,' I mouth to her. She bangs on the window until a pair of hands pulls her away. A car comes around the corner. I recognise it immediately. I wait until it's so close they can see 'Lia' in the booster seat and lock my gaze with the driver. I whisper a spell and make the flame flare brighter. My gaze still locked with the driver's, I drop the match.


	6. Chapter 4

**Hi, soooo sorry i've taken so long to update, i've had a busy couple of weeks. Sorry if this chapter has ant typos i've been up late trying to get it finished and have been in a rush to get it up. **

**Thanks to _shewolf13, orangeraindrop, donkeyface _and _lucymort_ for reveiwing on the last chapter. :)**

**R&R plz! Enjoy! **

* * *

><p>That night I dream of running as a wolf. I can feel the soft but brittle earth beneath my paws and the branches' fingers scratching me softly as I fly through them. I can hear the wind as it whistles through the leaves and the sound of even breathing beside me. All I can see is the endless forest as I race my companion wolf. The scent of the undergrowth only makes me more excited and makes me run ever faster and I can taste the excitement of the black wolf with big, brown eyes beside me. 'Ash, my Ash,' I think gleefully. We continue to run, making so little noise that a human could pass us by and see nothing more than a shadow and flash of red and not hear a sound. For the first time in over two months everything seems so right, so perfect. I don't feel alone anymore. Wolves prefer to run in packs something I've been unable to do since I came here. But now I don't have to run alone, now I have Ash.<p>

'LIA, HELP ME!' screams a voice from somewhere in the trees. Ash and I both stop abruptly, our ears swivelling to try and pick up the noise.

'LIA!' this time I recognize the voice, Sophie. I run through the trees at full speed, leaving Ash behind me. Sophie's in danger, I have to get to her before _they _do. A pained howl from behind me makes me stop again. Ash. I turn round to go to him. A dark shadow moves in the trees. I growl threateningly and make my fur stand on end in a useless attempt to look bigger. As a human I'm five foot six, making me a small wolf compared to the one now coming towards me. I recognise it at once, Jeremy. He lunges and lands on me, fangs going for my neck, for the kill. I fight back uselessly. 'They've killed Sophie and my Ash and now they're going to do the same to me,' I think still fighting against Jeremy's grip. He snarls at me before ripping out my throat causing everything to go black.

I sit up quickly, too quickly I realise as the blood flows from head making me dizzy. The scratchy duvet falls off me, annoying my bare skin. Bare skin? I look down and nearly throw up. Not only am I naked but I'm also covered in blood. My hands fly up to cover my mouth to stop the scream that had nearly made its way out. This time I do throw up. I look at myself in the mirror, not only is my stomach covered in blood but so are my hands and face. I breathe deeply through my mouth, trying to calm myself. Suddenly, my dream comes back to me all at once.

'Sophie,' I gasp.

I look over at her bed. There's a Sophie sized lump on it. I breathe in deeply through my nose smelling flesh and making my insides flop. I hesitantly make my way over to her bed. Please let me be wrong, please. I reach out a hand and grip the sheets covering Sophie. I take another deep breathe through my mouth and yank the sheet away from the bed. I look at Sophie and stumble back, screaming. I stop when my back hits the wall furthest from Sophie's bed and slide down it until I'm sitting on the floor with my knees pulled into my chest. I put my head down and grip my hair, trying not to pull it out, as I fight the change I can feel coming.

'Then change, you stupid pup!' growls my inner voice chiming in at the wrong moment as usual. I'm too stressed to answer it back.

Get a grip Lia, you can't change not here, not now. I take deep breaths trying to calm myself, the stench and taste of flesh doesn't help. I don't look up as the door bangs open, nor can I smell who it is over the more unpleasant scents circulating the room. I listen to their footsteps as they get closer to me. 'No stay back,' I think uselessly. If I change, oh gosh, if I change, who knows what I'll do?

'Lia?' says a voice from above me – Ash. It had to be him. He places a hesitant hand on my back in comfort but I react to the contact badly. My brain had felt almost numb when I'd first seen Sophie, but the warmth of his skin wakes up the wolf inside of me. I twist round to face him and snarl at him menacingly. He flinches away from me, I see the shock in his eyes easily as he recovers himself and tries to touch me again. I lash out at him, kicking punching and scratching with all my strength. I knee him in the stomach and he doubles over, winded. I scramble into the far corner breathe heavily, my mind spinning as I try to regain control over myself. I can't let the wolf control me like this.

'Awww, why not?' whispers my inner voice. 'You're more fun when you get like this.'

SHUT THE HELL UP! I scream mentally as my temper comes to an end. MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS MAKE STUPID REMARKS ABOUT EVERYTHING! GO FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO TORTURE!

'Lia?' Ash repeats, from across the room. My eyes snap up to his instantly, my breath coming out in small gasps from mentally screaming at myself. He crosses the room and reaches a hand out as if to touch me again.

'Don't touch me,' I warn him, glaring good measure.

'Okay, I won't,' replies Ash holding up his hands in a surrender. 'But you need to put your dressing gown on and wash your face before anyone comes to find out why you screamed.'

'The only other person down this corridor that hasn't left is Courtney and she's a heavy sleeper,' I explain calming down a bit and getting control of the wolf. I take a deep breath before saying anything else. 'Are you okay?'

Ash laughs humourlessly. 'Me? You're the one that – um – should be going into shock not me.' I take in his pale face and worried eyes and make my own conclusion. He isn't okay.

'I'm sorry.' Ash looks at me confused. 'For acting up like I did, I guess I was just shocked and –'

'It's fine, angel, really. I don't blame you.'

He sidles up to me and puts his hand in the air spreading his fingers out into a fan. I stare at it blankly for a minute before touching my hand to his and weave my fingers through his before clinging to it tightly. Ash presses his lips to my forehead as I lean against him. We sit like that for what feels like only seconds but, in cold and harsh reality, is ten minutes (no where near long enough). I pull away and unwind my fingers from his. I reach for my dressing gown but am beaten to it by Ash who holds it so I can just slide my arms in. I stand still as he winds his arms round my waist and does up the belt tightly enough that you can't see any of my body. I let myself be led over to my bed and sit down on it heavily.

'Wait here and I'll get a flannel for you too wash your face with,' Ash explains as he turns and heads for the bathroom. Ignoring him, I get up to follow. He turns his head to glare at me. 'I mean it Accalia, don't move.'

I do what I'm told immediately. Ash gives me a weird look, probably surprised that I actually did what he told me to do, before heading into the bathroom. I watch him go, diverting his gaze from Sophie's body. The last person to call me by my full name had also hit me and made me make a decision I felt no where near ready to make. I shudder at the memory. I've put what happened that day behind me and I'm _not_ going to think about. I tell myself firmly. My gaze flickers to Sophie. How could this have happened? Why didn't I wake up? Why isn't there a scent other than mine, Sophie's and flesh? What idiotic mutt could be so stupid as to kill a human right under another werewolves nose?

'Do you really what an honest answer to those questions?' mocks my inner voice, obviously not having got the message that I'm pissed of with it.

Humour me if you're so smart. You never know, it might be right. Did I just think that?

'This happened because O'Connor, your little boyfriend, probably drugged you last night on your pathetic date –'

I growl. If they're the only answers you can come up with, I'm not interested.

I let my gaze fall on Sophie again and my breath gets stuck in my throat. She looks worse than I thought. I study the damage that the mutt has done to my best friend. She almost doesn't look human with the whole of her right arm missing –

'Looks like the mutt ate it. I wonder what she tasted like?' mocks my inner voice, cutting me off from my train of thought.

You're sick? You know that? Sick!

I continue to assess the damage done. Not only is her arm missing but so are her clothes, not surprisingly, and other parts of her body. Blood covers her sheets, I notice that some has even been splattered on the wall. I swallow the bile in my throat. I have to do this, when I get the records from Karl it will have details of the victims, if I want to identify this mutt then I have to know what his kills look like. I take a deep breath and listen for Ash. The water's still running from the tap, I wonder what's taking him so long? I listen harder and hear him breathing heavily.

'Don't worry, dinner's just calming himself down,' says my inner voice lightly.

ASH IS NOT DINNER, NOW PISS OFF! My second out burst makes my inner voice snicker evilly. I look at Sophie again as my insides do a belly flop. Her whole body is covered in scratches from the attack, especially her head. I'd been avoiding looking at her face, I just don't want to see her blank eyes that where once full of life and youth. I allow my eyes to dart to her face and regret it instantly. I lean forward and throw up again on the floor. Her face, oh my God her face! I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the image.

'It wasn't _that _bad, pup,' says my inner voice smugly.

Not that bad? Her face was gone! Ripped off and eaten most likely. And you say it's not that bad? I squeeze my eyes shut even tighter.

'Come on, surely you've seen worse,' I picture my inner voice grinning wickedly. 'I _know _you've seen worse. She burnt Lia, burnt in the car because she didn't love you. Because you were too different, a monster. She left you with the Coven, knowing exactly how they would treat you. Surely that is worse, to be despised by your own mother.'

'NO!' I scream out, curling into a ball again and gripping my hair.

'Lia! What's wrong, angel?' I didn't hear Ash come out of the bathroom. He sits down beside me, pulls me onto his lap and cradles me in his arms. I bury my face in his shirt, sobbing loudly. I can near enough smell the surprise coming off Ash. He's never seen me cry before. I realise. I need to be strong. I can't let my past rule over me like this, it's unhealthy. Who cares if my mum killed herself to get away from me? Who cares if the Coven abandoned me whenever I needed them most? Who cares if the only people that ever really felt like my family hate me and wants me dead? I care, and it bothers me. I breathe in through my nose deeply and pull away from Ash's chest. I wince quietly when I see the state of Ash's shirt. It's now covered in blood and tear stains. Oops.

'I'm sorry,' I seem to be saying that a lot today.

'Lia, stop apologizing. You have every reason to be acting like this,' Ash looks me in the eye, trying to get the message across that he means it. 'Do you want me to wipe your face?'

I nod mutely, not wanting to have to look at my reflection again. Gently, Ash begins to clean the blood of my face. I close my eyes and focus only on him touching my face. I'll never admit it but I like being this close to someone, physically and mentally. I sigh contentedly, even though I know I shouldn't feel like that, it's so easy to forget the reality when I have my eyes closed focusing only on what I can feel and hear. I forget the taste of flesh and vomit in my mouth, I forget the stench of fresh blood and I forget the sight of Sophie. I know that the world inside my head isn't real, but for those five minutes that Ash spends cleaning the blood of my face it might as well be. I snap out of my thoughts when soft lips touch mine. I keep my eyes closed and kiss Ash back. He chuckles slightly and pulls back, just like he did last night. Was it really only last night when I'd felt so happy, even when Sophie was bombarding me with silly questions and when I'd lost my charm? Right now, last night feels like a life time away.

'C'mon, we'll go to my room where you can have a shower and get cleaned up,' says Ash standing up. He holds his hand out for me and I take it eagerly. He smiles, pleased with my reaction.

'One sec, let me gat my bag,' I almost run into the bathroom and hurriedly collect my shampoo, conditioner, the first outfit I lay my hands on and my hair brush. Shoving them into the toiletry bag, I renter the bedroom, careful to keep my gaze from flickering to Sophie again. I take Ash's hand again and let him lead me out.

'What's that smell?' muses my inner voice.

I'm not going to fall for it. I'm not going to fall for it. I'm not going to – What is that? I stop in the doorway, nostrils flaring as I try to place the new scent in the air. It seems familiar somehow, as if I've smelt it before. But where from? I ask myself angrily. I twist round and do a quick sweep of the room still breathing in deeply. It smells of rotting vegetation and… dog? I rub my arm realising that it's covered in goose bumps. What _is _that smell?

'Lia? What's wrong?' asks Ash urgently. He steps up beside me and also does a quick sweep of the room; unlike me he doesn't skip Sophie's bed.

'Nothing. Sorry, it's just I thought I…' I break of at the end, shaking my head. 'Sorry, I'm just stressed.'

Ash nods his head tightly while looking round the room again for what had made me stop. I tug at his hand, trying to tell him that I want to go.

'Please Ash, I don't want to be here,' I whisper, begging, in his ear.

'Let's go.' Ash leads me down the corridor to his room. He opens the door loud enough to wake Sean up, but not loud enough that it makes my eardrums hurt like Sophie did whenever she came into a room. I'm not doing well at the whole_ don't-think-about-what-happened _concept. I think, cursing myself silently.

'Where's the fire?' asks Sean stupidly, jumping awake.

'Lia's going to borrow our shower,' Ash hesitates. 'Sophie's been attacked.'

'So she's…?'

'She was dead when I woke up,' I croak.

'I'll ring 911 while you two get yourselves decent,' Sean replies getting up and heading to the wardrobe. 'The bathroom's all yours Lia.' He grins at me and winks. I can't help rolling my eyes at him, he reminds me of Nick somehow. Kind of like a big brother and friend all rolled in one. I sigh inwardly. Am I _ever _going to except that I'm not Pack?

'I doubt it,' replies my inner voice.

Why can't it just leave me alone!

'Thanks,' I mumble in reply to Sean.

I wait until Sean leaves before actually getting in the shower, feeling uncomfortable with him being in the next room. Taking my time I work the shampoo and conditioner into my long and badly tangled hair. I hate my hair. I almost laugh out loud as I think that. After everything that's happened in the past, what, half an hour? And I'm complaining about my hair. It seems like such a normal thing for someone of my age to be thinking, but as my life is far from normal this thought seems strange. How backwards. I scrub ferociously at the blood covering most of my body. My shower lasts longer than I expected. By the time I've washed my hair, cleaned off the blood and started to feel somewhat relaxed the water is beginning to run cold. I turn the water off and wrap a towel round myself, shivering slightly. I rarely get cold, another werewolf advantage, but when I do I literally freeze. I shiver again and dry myself with the towel. I grab a set of clothes to change into from my bag, the same top and jeans as I had worn last night. I shove them on and study myself in the mirror. My hair is a hopeless case so I just plait it again and try to ring as much water from it as possible.

'You still haven't asked the million dollar question, pup,' says my inner voice.

What the hell is it on about now? I have all the answers I need right now thank you very much.

'So you're not interested in why you were covered in blood?'

Um, no. Not really. I'm lying to myself and my inner voice knows it. I hadn't thought of that. How _did _all that blood get on me? If I didn't know any better then I would have thought that it looked like _I _had been the one to attack Sophie. That's crazy, right? Right?

'When was the last time you changed?' questions my inner voice.

Seven, no eight days ago. Eight days? That can't be right? I do the maths in my head again. It couldn't have been that long. If a werewolf doesn't change regularly then its behaviour can become unpredictable and down dangerous. Is it possible that I'd been ignoring my wolf instincts so thoroughly that I'd attacked Sophie unconsciously? I think back to the scent at the doorway. No. That doesn't explain that. Someone's trying to frame me. Trying to make me doubt myself. Well they're in for a damned big surprise, no-one messes with my friends and gets away with it. When I catch this mutt I'll –

_Ting!_ I jump. Who the hell would me texting me at… at quarter past eight on a Saturday morning? Maybe if I just ignore it. _Ring! Ring! Ring!_ Annoying thing. I reach over and grab my phone from my bag. I check the caller ID before answering.

'You took your time,' greets Karl coldly.

'I'm fine thanks, you?' I reply.

'I've got the information you asked me for,' he says, ignoring my pleasantries. I can hear the scowl in his voice. Jewel thieves, they steal a couple thousand dollars worth of diamonds and think that they're all that. Or does that just apply to Karl? 'I'll meet you at the modern arts museum in one hour. If you're not there in seventy minutes then I'll leave. If you're early the Pack might catch you. Good luck.'

'Wait –' I get cut off by a toneless beep. I bang my head on the wall. Seventy minutes to make an hour and a half journey? This day is defiantly going on my list of top ten shitty days. I groan and get up. I need that information, even if I have to break the speed limit trying.


	7. Chapter 5

**Hi guys. I know that this chapter is a little bit pathetic considering how long it took me to write it so i'm sorry. i basically just wanted to show Lia's weaker side (thank you shewolf13 for making me reconsider how Lia reacts :)).**

**Thanks to _shewolf13 _and _donkeyface _for reveiwing on the last chapter. :D**

**I'm going to try and upload again before i go on holiday next week but no promises. **

**Anyway, Chapter 5...**

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><p><span>Ash's POV<span>

The first thing I notice when Lia comes through the bathroom door is how ill she looks. I look at her worriedly as she leans against the wall. Lia can put on a good show and make you believe that she's fine, she can fool anyone even me. But today her emotionless mask has been broken by Sophie's death. I can almost see the stress rolling of her body, and feel the pain she must be feeling whenever I look into her eyes.

'Are you okay?' I ask her, realising that I haven't done so yet.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' she pauses and starts twirling her hair round her finger. 'I need to go.'

Before now I'd been keeping my gaze anywhere that she wasn't, but now I let my eyes meet hers. Trying to keep my voice calm I ask, 'Where are you going?'

'I'm meeting with Karl,' she tells me, shamefaced. She knows that I'm not going to like this, not that I have any amount of influence over her at all.

'What, now?'

She nods slowly.

I reply slowly, 'I don't think that's such a good idea, Lia.'

'Why not?' her usual near snappiness is back in her voice, but there's also something else that I can't figure out what it is. Regret? Fear? Yeah she's really going to be scared about meeting her Uncle.

'Because Sophie…' I say gently. I study her for a minute before changing course. 'Lia, you do realise what's happened don't you?'

Immediately Lia meets my eye, 'Of course I do.'

'Then you should understand why I'm so worried. Sophie's dead, angel. You're hurt by that, I know you are, so you shouldn't be running off to meet anyone.'

'I… I need something to get my mind of things, to clear my head.' She begs me with her eyes, pleading for me to understand that she wants to be alone. I'm not giving in. I open my mouth to tell her this but she keeps talking, 'You don't know how I feel. How could you? You've never woken up to find someone you love dead.' Her voice breaks painfully mid sentence. I watch as she angrily wipes away the tears running down her face. It's a useless attempt as more quickly replace them. I want nothing more than to tell her that everything is fine, that Sophie's not really dead, that it was all just some cruel prank. I wish I know how to comfort her, but I admit that I'm clueless.

'I do know what it's like,' I whisper. Should I really tell her? I've never told anyone before, but part of me wants to tell her. I hang my head and continue hesitantly, 'Sean and I had thrown a party. You know what it's like, first time alone in a new place and you desperately want to impress everyone. Well, our baby sister, Mary, was asleep in the other room. It was my turn to check on her but I was too wasted to be bothered, Sean didn't bother either. I don't know his reason. The next morning before our parents got home I checked on her,' I stop having second thoughts about telling her. 'She'd stopped breathing and passed away some time during the night.' my voice gets quieter and with anyone else I would wonder whether the can hear me but not with Lia. I look up at her to watch her reaction, my eyes are stinging from the tears that are trying to escape. 'I know _exactly_ how it feels.'

She stands there, speechless and slowly shaking her head, as she processes my story. 'You don't understand,' she says her voice so quiet I have to lean forward to hear what she's saying. 'I can't let my emotions rule over me, I just can't. When you get upset what's the worst that can happen? There's no-one there to comfort you? If I can't control my emotions then much worse things happen than that. I can't let myself feel too much.' I stare in astonishment when she falls quiet, not meeting my gaze. Does she really think that? That it's wrong to feel? I watch the tears running silently down her face, she's stopped bothering to try and hide them from me.

'You're aloud to be upset, no-one will think any less of you.' Lia glances up at me from under her lashes. 'How do you feel?'

'How do I _feel_?' she repeats, dumbfounded.

'Yeah,' I say rubbing a hand over my mouth. 'What's running through your mind? Do you feel hurt? Angry? Upset?' I explain, thinking back to the counselling sessions my parents had forced me too after my sister's death.

She thinks over the question carefully before slowly answering, 'I feel as though nothing matters and, yet, everything is important,' Lia tries to explain. 'When I first saw Sophie, I felt as though I should have known, like I should have woken up and stopped them from killing her. I feel numb, but at the same time in so much pain I wish I were completely numb. It's as if something's been ripped out my body and now has me gasping in pain on the inside. But I can't show how I feel. I just feel so helpless and alone.' She finishes in a whisper, her voice breaking painfully. She takes a deep breath to calm herself.

I cross the room in two strides and put my arms protectively around her small body. Lia buries her face in my shirt and sobs loudly for the second time that day. Part of me feels like screaming. A tight knot of pain and hurt throbs in my stomach is a constant reminder that Sophie's gone. Sophie Baine, the chatty blonde haired girl from pre school is dead, never to laugh or to smile again. My throat tightens as I think back to the day we'd met. A couple of boys had stolen her Mickey Mouse pen so Sean and I had got it back for her, earning the three of us a time out and therefore starting a friendship that kept us together all through elementary, high school and collage. I look down at Lia. Sophie was always one of those people that needed someone to give them a gentle push in the right direction and was always surrounded by friends and her countless boyfriends. When we first arrived at the University of Central Florida I admit that I'd been worried at my slightly over-the-top friend, but then Lia had arrived and got roomed with Sophie. Lia had been a good friend to Sophie, a better friend than I ever was. She'd been patient and treated Sophie almost like a little sister at times. And now this had happened. 'The good people in this world always die young.' I remember my father's words from years ago. He was right, Sophie deserved better than what she got, she deserved a long and happy life with someone that cared a bout her.

I think all that while murmuring soft reassurances and comforts to Lia. I don't know whether she can hear them but it seems to calm her down. Slowly her sobs quieten into hiccupping. She moves away from me, putting some distance between us. Reluctantly, I let her while wanting to keep her close to me where I know she'll be safe.

'She wouldn't want to see us upset,' I tell Lia.

She nods distractedly. 'I know,' she sighs. I watch a tear start to run down her face. Without thinking, I lean forward and wipe it away. Too my surprise, she doesn't flinch or try to avoid the contact.

'There will be a funeral.'

She laughs softly and humorously, 'I don't think we'll be invited.'

'You will be,' I whisper.

Lia looks at me confused. 'How do you know that?'

'Sophie and I have known each other since we were four and I've never seen her get on with anyone as well as she got on with you. You were a really good friend to her.'

'You knew Sophie since you were _four_?' asks Lia bewildered.

I'm slightly surprised that she had asked about that. 'Yes,' I reply slowly.

'And she still couldn't tell you and Sean apart,' she laughs softly. I smile. 'I wasn't that good of a friend to her,' Lia continues seriously.

'Give me three reasons as to why you weren't,' I demand. Why can't Lia ever accept that she's _not_ a bad person? What person made her think that she is? My mind flickers to her family in New York for a second. The wanting to know and to understand what had happened flares strong.

Lia opens her mouth to give me her three reasons then snaps it shut again. I hate it when she does that, keeps secrets from me. I think back to what she said last night – _'I can't be honest with you. No matter how close we get I can never be completely honest with you.' _'I just know that I wasn't.'

'It's not your fault that she's dead.' I can tell by the almost dead look that has crept into her eyes that she somehow blames herself for what has happened.

'What if it was my fault? What if it was me who'd killed those people?' Lia avoids my eyes as she asks me.

I'm shocked. Does she really think that she could have done this to anyone, whether they are her best friend or a stranger? I want to demand of her what she's hiding from me but know that she won't tell me. 'You wouldn't do that. That's not the kind of person you are. I know that you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, you've been hurt too much by others and now don't want the people you love to suffer. You didn't kill those people, Lia.'

Lia smiles sadly, not the reaction I'd been expecting but much better than the anger and worry I had been expecting after I revealed how much I notice about her. 'Thank you,' she says, with a small smile still on her face.

'I love you, Lia,' I tell her for the first time.

'I love you too, Ash,' she whispers.

I press my lips to hers and pull away instantly as a volt of electricity sparks through me. I look at her, confusion, shock and probably a little bit of fear showing on my face. Lia's expression mirrors mine for a second before it melts away into understanding and joy.

'I love you Ash,' she whispers again. 'I'm still going to go see Karl.'

Before I can protest she gets up and leaves, leaving me dazed and content. Sean walks in and raises an eyebrow at my dreamy features.

'What –'

'Doesn't matter,' I tell him.

'Okay. Where's Lia going?'

'To meet her Uncle,' I inform him distractedly.

'And you let her go?' Sean asks surprised.

Realisation dawns on me. 'Shit,' I murmur jumping up and running out the door to stop Lia before she does something stupid, again.


	8. Chapter 6

**First of all i am so so so sorry about how long it's taken me to get this chapter finished and posted, i didn't manage to get it finished before going on holiday due to some writers block :( and then came back ill and really not in the mood to much writing... not that you probably really care that much. :)**

**On the up side i'm already half way through a draft of the next chapter so that shouldn't take too long - touch wood.**

**Thirdly, Thanks to _shewolf13 _and _donkeyface _for reveiwing on the last chapter. :)**

**Fourthly, i've been thinking about maybe getting a beta to help me with writing this, so if your interested PM me or tell me in a reveiw. thx.**

**Fifthly (if that's how it's spelt and if it's even a really word :/) Reveiws are much apprieciated and so is constructive critsism.**

**Sixthly, sorry for the long authors note. :)**

**Seventhly, R&R and enjoy chapter 6...**

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><p>'I love you Lia.' My heart leaps for joy when he says it but is quickly followed by a spark of doubt. I push away the doubt and trust my instincts.<p>

'I love you too, Ash,' I whisper softly back to him.

Without hesitating Ash closes the space between us on his bed and presses his warm lips to mine. As soon as our lips touch I feel electricity race through my body and warm me completely. My mind goes blank and the only thing that I can focus on is Ash, the colour of his eyes, and the strength of his arms as he held me safe in them only minutes before. I'm vaguely aware that Ash pulls back almost instantly. He looks at me with a mixture of shock and near fear on his normally calm and composed face. What had just happened?

_'How do you know when you've found your mate?' I asked Elena, swinging my legs over the edge of the pier. We had gone to the beach for a holiday and, unfortunately, had to cut said holiday short due to some mutt problems. We would be leaving the next day._

_ Elena chuckled. 'Why? Do you think that maybe Markus…?' she trailed off and looked at me curiously._

_ 'I don't know. I really like him but I just don't know whether he's 'the one',' I said looking out to sea so that Elena didn't see the blush turning my cheeks scarlet. _

_ 'I don't know how to explain to you what it's like, but you'll know when you've mated with someone.'_

_ 'Does it happen, like, when you first see each other?' I questioned further._

_ 'No, it can happen years after you first meet. I'll tell you this though, Lia, when you do mate with someone, you'll feel connected to them, as if your minds are somehow linked. If you just trust your instincts then everything will be fine.' Elena studied me for a moment. 'I doubt that you'll be mating with anyone for a few years, you're only fifteen.'_

_ 'I thought you said that you are never too young or, in Jer's case, old for love?'_

_ Elena glanced at me and we both burst out laughing. _

Is it possible that Ash…? I smile slightly. Yes, it is very possible. I think to myself. 'I love you Ash,' I repeat. His whole face glows for a moment. 'I'm still going to go see Karl,' I inform him.

Before he can recover enough to stop me I leave the room. Sure Ash will be mad at me but if it's the price I have to pay to stop these attacks and get revenge on the mutt for killing Sophie then I'll pay it.

'Ahhh revenge, such a sweet, wolfy feeling. They hurt you so now you'll hurt them. What are you going to do to them, pup? Kiss them to death?' my inner voice laughs bitterly.

Why would I kiss someone to death…? I nearly bang me head on the wall. Ash didn't kill anyone!

'Whatever you say pup.'

I decide to be the bigger person and not rise to the bait. Instead I settle on muttering darkly to myself under my breath, earning me a few weird looks from my fellow class mates. None of them stop me or asks if I'm okay so I take that to mean that the news of Sophie's death hasn't yet spread. Sophie's death… the words ring in my mind hollow and empty. I still can't believe that it had happened. The memory brings tears building up in my eyes. Harshly, I brush them away with the back of my hand. I can't show weakness, like I told Ash, I can't let my emotions rule over me unless I want to Change in the middle of a conversation. That reminds me that I need to Change sooner rather than later.

I get outside and notice a dozen police cars and an ambulance in the car park. I pull up the hood of my jacket and briskly walk to my car.

'Excuse me, miss,' shouts a man's voice from the direction of the police cars. I look up and see one of the men walking towards me. He is relatively tall with dark blonde hair that looks like it should have had an appointment with the hairdresser's weeks ago.

'How can I help you, officer?' I ask politely when he stops in front of me.

'Detective,' he corrects. I raise my eyebrows at him slightly. He clears his throat. 'I'm afraid that you won't be able to leave the premises for a while, you see there's been another animal attack so I suggest you stay inside.'

'Thank for your concern Detective-?'

'Findley,' he introduces himself.

The name seems vaguely familiar but I don't bother trying to figure out where from. 'Thank you for your concern Detective Findley but I've got an important meeting that I can't be late for. So, if you'll excuse me.' I attempt to side step him but he moves into my path again. I grind my teeth together in frustration. My mind races over the spells I know to see if any can help me escape Detective Findley. I whisper the incantation to the binding spell and run to my car before anyone notices that he has stopped moving, especially him.

I get in and rush out of the car park before any other _Detectives_ can stop me. After five miles of speeding my phone rings. I glance down at it before putting it on silent, I don't fancy hearing Ash shout at me for the next forty five minutes. Which reminds me… I wait until the phone has stopped ringing and call Karl. He picks up on the third ring.

'Having problems Lia?' he asks sounding amused.

'I might be late,' I tell him through my teeth.

'Shame, I guess that means you won't be getting that information.'

I sigh, 'I guess that also means you won't be getting your money.'

He doesn't reply.

'Karl?'

'I'll give you an extra twenty minutes, if your late, pup, then you'll be lucky the Pack doesn't get you,' he snaps in a very un-Karl-like manner.

'Is that a threat?' I ask him calmly.

'Quite possibly,' he snarls before hanging up on me again. I'm starting to think that I need to work on my people skills.

Annoyed, I throw my phone on the seat beside me and focus on the road. My mind wanders to the conversation I'd had with Ash earlier. The last time I can remember talking to anyone like that was to Jeremy on my first night at Stonehaven. After my mother's death I'd blocked myself away from the pain and refused to feel any emotions. Then when I did get upset there was no-one I could talk to, no-one that cared about me enough to listen to my fears and my worries. Ruth and Paige cared but I only saw them once a week for my changes so I was either a wolf or sleeping the whole time. Going to Stonehaven had been a blessing. Finally there seemed to be people I could talk to, people who would understand me. But then those people betrayed me, just like everyone else I've ever loved. That's all love is, something to be built up and then broken so badly it will all come crashing down on you. Stories say that love is everlasting, maybe it is for some people but not for me. Ash will betray me, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday he will. I will be forever waiting for it to happen, for him to find another girl he likes better, or to decide that he can't handle what I am and take himself away from me.

I wipe tears away from my eyes. Sophie never betrayed me, but she still left me.

'It wasn't her choice,' whispers my inner voice almost gently.

I know that, but it couldn't have just been a random attack. Someone killed her on purpose, that much I'm sure of. Ash mentioned a funeral. I've never been to one before. I suppose my mother had one, or maybe not. Who would have gone to it? The only friends I can ever remember her talking about were Ruth and her daughter Paige. A spark of old curiosity flares at the back of my mind. Someday I'd like to find where she was buried and maybe even find out who my father is. But at the moment my heritage is completely irrelevant.

I sped up as I turn onto the B road running alongside the forest I normally go too to change. The road is empty apart from my car, not many cars use this road anymore since a motorway was built a few years ago. I prefer quieter roads, more wildlife and…

'SHIT!' I scream as I stupidly swerve right to avoid a deer that had ran across the road. I take my foot off the accelerator and silently curse my idiocy as the car flies through the forest crashing noisily through the undergrowth.

'Don't just sit there like a damsel in distress! Use the brakes!' yells my inner voice.

Oh yeah, forgot about them. I slam my foot down on the brake and get flung against my seat belt as the car comes to stop. The air bag inflates before I can calm myself down making me panic and feel claustrophobic. Frantically, I claw at my seat belt trying desperately to find the release button for it. After undoing the seat belt I grab at the door handle and all but throw myself out. Somehow, I manage to trip over my own feet and land heavily on the forest floor. I take five deep, calming breathes before a pair of strong hands yank me up. My first thoughts are that Ash had, by some miracle, found me. I breathe through my nose for the first time since getting out the car and panic. I struggle against the hands, kicking and scratching any part of his body I can. He grunts, obviously slightly surprised by my fighting back, and easily pins my arms behind my back painfully. I continue to struggle. I refuse to go down without a fight, but all it's doing is making him tighten his grip until I'm sure that if he tightened it anymore my arms would snap. Defeated I go limp.

'The Pack's been looking for you, mutt,' he growls in my ear, closer than I thought. My instincts tell me to pull away from the threat, to fight. I don't move and scowl at the trees.

I laugh coldly, 'Thanks for enlightening me, Clayton.'

His grip tightens threateningly. I wince softly and picture him grinning at my weakness.

'You like playing chase don't you? How about this? You have a five second head start to run. If you get to the road I'll let you live for a while longer,' he explains his 'game' slowly, whispering in my ear.

'And if I don't get to the road?' I ask already knowing the answer.

He chuckles darkly, 'If you don't get to the road then that means your dead. Simple enough for you?'

I glance at my car, the keys should still be in the ignition so I could just… Clayton jangles a set of keys from behind me.

'One more rule, no cars,' he growls. Damn, he's annoyingly good. 'So what do you say, Valo? Are you going to run or should I just snap your neck now?'

I pretend to think it over for a second before replying. 'I can't run anywhere with my arms pinned behind my back,' I inform him calmly.

'Your five seconds will start as soon as I let go. Ready? Three… Two… One…'

As soon as he lets me go I dart forward. Quickly he puts his foot down in front of me, tripping me over. I turn to glare at him.

'Three seconds, mutt.'

I jump up and sprint through the forest, keeping to the path of destruction left behind from my car's earlier journey through the trees. I haven't had to run like this for months and now my body is refusing to co-operate. I veer right sharply into the denser part of the forest where I will have the advantage. I'm small and can make the twists and turns through the trees easily, unlike Clayton. I weave in and out of the trees as fast as I can and making more noise than is wise. Ahead of me is a small clearing with a fallen tree blocking my path. I speed up. As I get closer I realise my mistake, the tree's bigger than I thought but I can't change my mind now. I leap over it and land heavily on my left foot, twisting my ankle and sending shots of pain up through my leg. Breathing heavily now I continue to sprint through the trees, all my focus is on the one small shaft of light coming through the trees ahead of me and promising the safety of the road. Nearly there, I can do this. I've got to be able to do this. I grit my teeth and ignore the throbbing pain in my left ankle.

Only twenty feet to go.

'C'mon Lia, you can do this.'

Where's Clay?

'Who the hell cares? You've beaten him at his own game!'

I'm not that fast.

Ten feet.

The bushes to my right rustle slightly and a familiar scent washes over me, the faded scent of a childhood living in a bayou and the stench of a werewolf.

'Well at least we've found Clay.'

Shit. I run harder.

A huge blonde wolf leaps in front of me, blocking my escape. I whirl round and plan to circle round. Teeth as sharp as daggers clamp down on my leg and pull me to the ground. I twist round and kick Clay in the face with my free leg. He batters it away in a very bored looking manner. He growls at me, eyes shining at the climax of the hunt. I look him in the eye, I'm not going down _that_ easily. I cast the knockback spell and send the wolf flying backwards into a tree. Any other time I would have laughed at the bemused expression on Clay's wolf face, but I don't see it. I limp past him as fast as my now bleeding leg will let me and to the road. The soft sound of running paws catches my attention. I keep going.

Three feet.

I hear Clay take of from the ground and throw myself onto the ground. I look up to see a blonde mass of fur, teeth and claws fly over my head. It lands on the ground unstable, loses its balance and crashes to the floor with the help of another knockback spell from me. I dodge round it and run the last few feet to the road. This time I make it to the pavement before tripping over a dip in the path and falling into the road to nearly be ran over by a blue truck being driven by a pissed of black haired twenty one year old male with beautiful brown eyes.

'Well that's two people that have nearly killed you today.'

I groan, I so can't be bothered to deal with this right now. Brakes squeal to a painful sounding stop to be followed by the pounding of running feet.

'Lia? Are you ok?' says Ash worriedly. He helps me get into a sitting position.

'I'm fine,' I reply automatically.

I sense his gaze sweep over me before settling on my bleeding leg. 'What happened?' he demands, his eyes blazing.

'I crashed my car through the forest and then tripped over my own feet to be nearly run over by your dangerous driving.'

'I meant your ankle,' _duh_. He doesn't say it but I bet he thinks it.

'She got attacked by a rabid squirrel!' yells my inner voice sarcastically. 'There's a killer 'wild dog' out there human what do you think,' I wince at the volume my inner voice yells at.

'I tripped,' my answer sounds like a question even to me.

'Hmmm.' He doesn't believe me.

'Well that's a shocker, pup.'

'Can you walk?' he asks gently.

I roll my eyes and nod, I could have lost a leg and still insist that I can walk just fine. He helps me to my feet and limp to his truck. I literally fall onto the passenger seat and sit patiently (patiently for me) as he bandages the wound on my leg.

'I guess I should go get your car, again,' he teases after putting away the first aid kit. I panic slightly. Clay wouldn't hurt Ash, Jeremy would never let him.

I grin sheepishly, 'it could wait.'

Ash fixes me with a don't-be-so-stupid glare. I raise my eyebrows at him slightly.

'Your choice,' I shrug. I point out the point where I'd swerved off the road and into the forest. 'The keys should still be in the ignition. Are you sure you don't want me to come?'

'Lia, angel, no offense but you can barely walk and I think I can manage walking through a small forest by myself,' he says smiling, it doesn't reach his eyes.

'Don't be too long,' I sigh.

This time it's his turn to raise his eyebrows. I blush slightly. His next smile lights up his eyes and takes my breath away. 'I won't.'

I wait until his retreating back has disappeared completely into the trees before peeling off the bandage wrapped tightly round my leg. After a quick examination I cast a simple healing spell and settle in the car to wait for Ash. Soon though my thoughts are bombarded with memories and faces I'd rather forget. Hot tears run down my cheeks as I let myself get overtaken once more by the pain of losing Sophie. A piercing howl from the forest brings my mind back to the present day and situation. Ash is out there and Clay's found him.


	9. Chapter 7

**I am so so so sorry about taking so long to write this, i've been struggeling with writers block and revision for exams in two weeks. **

**thanks to _shewolf13 _and _donkeyface_ for reveiwing on the last chapter and to _shewolf13_for helping me so much with this chapter.**

**R&R plz! **

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><p>Before I can even draw a breath, the whole truck is rocked by something landing heavily on the bonnet. Panic seeps through my veins cold as ice. I look into the forever unseeing brown eyes covered by a fringe of dark hair on the body separated from me by only a thin piece of glass.<p>

'Ash,' I whimper.

The soft burning that has been slowly spreading from the back of my neck to the rest of my skin for the past two days suddenly ignites, sending shots of pure agony through my body. Never has my body forced me to Change. I have always been so in control of my emotions, always in control of the wolf. I look at Ash's lifeless body again. My back arches painfully. No, a Change will make me too vulnerable, Clayton's out there. I need to stop, I command my body. Another wave of fear and pain washes over my body, so violent it makes me black out for a second. I keep my eyes squeezed shut, just willing the Change to reverse. The mutt killed him. He killed Ash and he killed Sophie. Tears sting behind my eyes as I let the pain of the Change overcome me. One last unbearable wave of agony crashes through my body, making my inhuman wail turn into a single howl of pain.

I look up and, without thinking, crash through the door window. Glass slices my skin; I don't feel anything as I race into the safety of the trees.

They killed Sophie.

A branch whips back into my eye, forcing me to close it and narrow the other one against the trees.

They killed Ash.

A sharp stone rips open my front paw; the coppery scent of blood fills my senses.

The Pack thinks I did it and wants me dead.

The soft thump of paws hitting the ground sounds a few meters behind me. The wolf pushes me to run faster.

'The mutt has to die,' growls my inner voice. 'Today.'

For possibly the first and last time I agree with it. No more. The Pack is ready to rip my throat out, at least six people are dead - two of which have been the only reasons for my keeping sane over the past two months - and my once near peaceful life has just been ruined in the past 2 hours. I shut off the human side of my brain and hunt. The wolf leaps in anticipation as it pictures mentally what it will do when it finds the mutt and imagines the taste of the warm blood that I will spill from the his sorry throat. Revenge can be a good thing.

As a human it had felt as though my heart had been shattered, like the glass I had crashed through only minutes earlier (had it really only been a few minutes? It feels like a lifetime ago), as a wolf I feel nothing but the blinding want, no, need to seek revenge on the mutt that caused the death of _my _Ash.

After weaving aimlessly through the trees for an amount of time, my now revenge filled brain can't seem to comprehend I smell a familiar scent on the breeze. A strange mixture of rotting vegetation and wet dog, the mutt. I push myself on, ignoring the growing ache of my underused muscles, after him. A flash of dark fur to my right, the sickening scent of him to my left. I growl in frustration. I can't keep up with him; it's as if he's in more than one place at once.

'Follow your nose,' advises my inner voice.

Unwillingly, I take its advice and follow the mutt's scent. Ahead of me I catch glimpses of a ghostly black shape running ungracefully through the thick trees. I push myself on faster, trying desperately to close the space between us so it's small enough for me to pounce and show him that I'm the wrong werewolf to cross. To make him hurt for hurting me so thoroughly. He veers left into a large cluster of bushes. I try to follow but am nearly trampled on by a rampaging deer. I leap out of the way, narrowly missing its antlers. Some part of my brain – the little part that is still somewhat human – tells me that something must have scared the deer and it wasn't the mutt. I ignore it and pick up the pace again.

The deer isn't the only scared animal in the forest, I realise after nearly colliding with a doe, a small family of racoons, a skunk and a coyote mother with her cub, all with the sweet stink of fear coming off them and their eyes rolling in madness and panic. I sniff the air after losing my prey for the third time. His scent, all but gone, is covered by the smell of burning wood. Thick, endless smoke pours into the sky, blocking out the sun. I turn and run. Every instinct is screaming at me to run, to get away from the danger surrounding me. To my left the orange glow of flames licks carelessly at the leaves. I change direction, determined to get as much space as possible between myself and the forest fire. A burning tree falls in my path forcing me to skid to a stop. What little human part of me that remained while I was chasing the mutt has disappeared, leaving me as vulnerable as the other hundreds upon hundreds of animals trapped here.

A familiar voice shouts in the distance. I ignore it and run. Every tree, every bush, every leaf is ablaze, surrounding me from all sides, trapping me. A lit branch whips the side of my body as I race past sending fierce shocks of pain rocketing through my body. I collapse to the floor, unwilling and unable to go on any further. Fear consumes me, a blackness slowly spreading through my exhausted body. Every instinct, every part of my brain, is screaming at me to continue to fight, to never give up. The wolf is going mad, trying to override the human's logic and irrational calmness. The witch is panicking as well, the inherited fear of fire that has been passed along from generation to generation flares nearly as strong as the animal fear of the wolf.

'Get up!' commands my inner voice.

What's the point? If I survive this then the Pack will only get me later. I would rather die here. I close my eyes and block out the world around me. Every breath drags through my sore throat, causing me to cough violently every few seconds. Time ticks by, I don't move. Once I would have fought with everything I have to just to live another day, yet in the end all it took to finish me off was a branch on fire. Is that really a better way to die? Or would being at the mercy of the Pack be nobler? Slowly, the human pushes past the wolf, letting me see logic.

I force my eyes open, the scene in front of me hasn't changed much. More smoke in the sky and the tree on the left wasn't in flames before. I try to get up but am forced down by the burn in my side. I twist round to see it. My red fur is wet with blood and nearly burnt to the skin in places, not good. Branches rustle quietly in front of me. I flatten myself to the ground, unable to smell what's coming over the smoke. A howl rings through the gentle crackle of the fire. No, please god no.

A white blonde wolf emerges from the bush, followed closely by a golden coloured one, both with piercing blue eyes so noticeably human that any hiker would know that they are no ordinary wolves. I growl defensively and try to get to my feet. Clayton growls back twice as loud and threatening. I shy away from him instinctively. I watch him as Elena slowly circles me. Just do it, just kill me. Why bother with all this? I can't run, I can't fight, so why not just get it over and done with? Warm breath stings my burn making me whimper softly. Without hesitating, Elena licks the wound as clean as she can with the limited amount of time before gently prodding me. Clayton stands to the side, watching me wearily while keeping a look out. I whimper in protest.

I can't get up, it hurts too much.

Elena nudges me again harder. You need to get up, now!

With much encouragement and help I finally get shakily to my feet. Clayton jerks his head to the side. This way. Elena and I follow behind him as we race through the trees, not daring to stop to catch our breath, all fearing the flames that would be upon us in seconds if we did. With each stride the flames seem to vanish further behind us and the air becomes easier to breath. My side, however, feels as though it is constantly on fire, being burnt over and over again each time I move, making my vision go in and out of focus. I grit me teeth and put my full attention on getting out of this hell. I'm so focused on getting out that I don't notice the rabbit hole until my paw has fallen into it, knocking me off balance and to the ground.

I lay still, my ankle now throbbing nearly as badly as my side, the tenderness having returned from twisting it earlier. I listen to the sounds of Clayton and Elena skidding to stops ahead of me and then racing back to me. Elena nudges me, telling me to get up. I try to move my legs but they don't respond. I shut my eyes, ready to let unconsciousness overcome me completely, when strong jaws grab the scruff of my neck and some how get me onto their back. I bury my nose into their fur, Clay. The rhythm of his muscles working together is soothing and familiar. The number of times he's given me piggy backs in both forms is unbelievable to anyone outside the Pack. Well, I guess they aren't really piggy backs as he normally just shoves me off him in less than two seconds. His breathing soon becomes uneven with the combined weight of my body and the struggle to keep running at full speed. The occasional sharp branch catches my side, but I barely notice as I let my brain wander closer to sleep.

I vaguely notice that we've stopped moving and are surrounded by people with familiar scents (all with the underlying scent of a werewolf) that my sluggish brain can't keep up with. Strong yet gentle hands pull me off Clay's back and set me gently on the floor. The buzz of voices quietens as that same someone prods gently at the burn, checking it for infection no doubt. I whimper slightly as he presses too hard on a certain spot and am met by soft, calm reassurances immediately. He presses a hand over my heart, going through every medical examination he knows as usual. I lean towards his touch without thinking. My protector, my carer… my father. He says something but I need to concentrate to understand his words. I don't bother. He repeats himself. I force myself to push past the fogs of near unconsciousness and concentrate on what he's saying.

'You need to Change,' he tells me patiently for the third time.

My first reaction is that I can't, not like this, not with all this pain already. Fear seeps through my veins. I try to control it. He's here, if anything goes wrong (which it won't of course) then he will know what to do and look after me. That's his job. I empty my mind and force myself to relax. For the second time that day I let myself suffer the full hell of a Change. I'm halfway through the Change when I realise that people are watching me, I try and make the Change reverse, only doubling the pain already coursing through my body. A strangled howl turns into a scream as the Change ends. I curl into a ball to protect myself from anymore pain. Tears run down my cheeks and into my open mouth, tasting of salt water. I cough and throw up; clearing my lungs from the smoke I had nearly forgotten about. A sharp needle pricks the skin of my forearm. Ice melts through my body and slows my brain until I turn numb and finally enter the bliss of sleep.

I'm flying. Flying through the trees of Stonehaven, the delicious smell of a young doe only a few short feet in front of me. Karl is waiting south somewhere with Noah and Reese while the rest of us hunt. Nick and I are running side by side, covering it's right flank, with Antonio and Clay chasing it from the left. Together the four of are chasing it towards Jeremy and Elena who will take it down. A Pack hunt. There won't be enough for all of us, but it doesn't matter, the forest here is full of rabbits and other tasty meals for me to hunt with Noah and Reese afterwards.

I look ahead as Jeremy jumps onto the back of the doe and with a well aimed slash at its throat kills it. The rest of us gather to wait our turns, apart from Antonio who boldly runs straight to the doe and digs in. Jeremy snarls at him. Soon the two of them are snarling and nipping each other companionably as they eat their share side by side. Elena and Clay move in as soon as they've moved away, eating most of what's left, Nick joins them after a few minutes, neither complains. Karl moves in as soon as the Beta couple have left. I yawn and settle down in the sun to wait for my chance to scavenge any scraps left over. As much as I like rabbit, a healthy deer is much more appetising. The last of the adults move away from the doe leaving it open for us, the Pack youths. Noah and Reese eye me wearily, waiting to see if I'm going to feed or not. Normally, hierarchy is by age but as I've been with the Pack longer and the Alpha's child I'm higher up then them. Noah takes a step forward. I stand up and trot over to what's left of the doe. I eat about half of what's left before leaving it for the boys. I'm not even a few paces away before they attack it and fight well naturedly over what's left. Boys.

Most of the Pack Elders are dozing in the sunlight, a tangled mess of coloured fur and limbs. Jeremy is the only one fully awake. I go over and place myself directly in his sight, blocking Noah and Reese. He sighs and looks at me. I ask him, using a mixture of grunts and head jerks, if I can go and hunt for my own meal. He nods his head awkwardly to give his permission. My face splits into a wolfy grin and I race off. I hear him chuckle behind me. Uncaring, I hunt for my meal.

After only running for a few minutes I'm joined by a dark coloured wolf, not much bigger than me, with brown eyes. I slow down so he can keep up with me but he surprises me by speeding up and heading into the thicker trees ahead. I follow eagerly, wanting to be near him, to feel the protection of his body near mine. I break through the last barrier of trees and stop dead.

In front of me is a scene I've seen many times. The Pack asleep together, bodies pressed against each other, the random paw twitching as the owner runs in their sleep. The black wolf I had followed here lies down and motions me to join him. Willingly, I pad over and press myself against him. I look at the wolves in the clearing one last time, my family.

I open my eyes and watch trees blur as they fly past the window. That's the second time I've dreamt of Ash as a wolf and as part of my family. My family. I look at the people inside the car. Clay's driving; Jeremy's in the passenger seat and my head is resting on Elena's lap. None of them have realised that I'm awake yet.

'Don't you even want to know where you're going?' demands my inner voice rudely.

I know exactly where I'm going, I tell it, letting my eyes drift closed again. I'm going back home.


	10. Chapter 8

**sorry it has taken so long to get this posted!**

**Thanks to S_heWolf13, donkeyface and ZRSFizzBongs _for reviewing the last chapter. :)**

**Also thank you to my wonderful beta _SheWolf13 _for helping me again. **

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><p>The first thing my brain registers is the pain. The burn on my side is throbbing and my head hurts like hell. I shift my right hand slightly and feel a gentle pull against it. I open my eyes and look around me. I'm in a large creamy white painted room with pictures hanging on the walls and flowers covering nearly every available table space. The combined scent of so many different plants is overwhelming and makes my head spin. I switch to breathing through my mouth. They even taste horrible. I never have understood the point of sending flowers to people in hospital; they don't do anything but sit there and die when you forget to water them. Remembering what had made me open my eyes, I look down at my hand. An IV has been stuck to it with a considerable amount of surgical tape keeping it in place. I blink stupidly at it as I try to figure out where I am.<p>

Then it dawns on me. The flowers. The boringly painted room. The surgical tape. I resist the urge to bang my head on a wall and scream 'why me?' After everything that has happened in the past 24 hours – at least I think it has only been 24 hours – don't I deserve a break? Obviously the fates don't think so as I am currently lying in a _hospital_ bed with freaky supernatural DNA that will cause panic if it's been tested on which will lead to awkward questions that I can't get out off. Then the supernatural community may or may not be discovered, if it is then I will be killed by the Pack, the Cables and possibly even the Council and every supernatural will become a guinea pig to humans!

…

Maybe I'm over-reacting. I take a deep breath and calm myself. All I have to do is tell them that for religious reasons I do not wish for blood samples to be taken. And if they've already taken some blood… I don't consider the possibility of that, mainly because I haven't got a clue what I would do if I had to deal with that situation.

I take another look around me, trying to take in the room. Well, figure out all my escape roots actually. Living in the supernatural world makes you cautious at the best of times and downright paranoid at the worst. I've learnt the hard way that having all my escape roots already mapped out in advance will definitely be of use later if I overstay my welcome.

To my right is a big window letting in a considerable amount of light despite how dark it seems in here. On the wall farthest from my bed is a door also painted white. It seems that this hospital, like every other hospital in the world, has never heard of colours – no wait, there's a blue sky in the picture hanging on the wall opposite the window.

I yawn and close my eyes. Maybe if I just go back to sleep then I'll wake up and all this will be a bad dream. I'll wake up in my bedroom at Stonehaven, with the smell of bacon and pancakes luring me downstairs for breakfast (unless Jeremy was the one cooking then it would be scaring me away from the kitchen) and…

_What happened to leaving the Pack behind you?_

I don't want to. I think angrily before I can stop myself. It's not the first time that I've regretted my decision to leave the Pack. They were there for me when I needed them to be and didn't leave me even when I fucked things up.

_They tried to kill you._

I clench my jaw, I desperately want to think 'so what, it was just a misunderstanding,' but I can't. By even thinking that I would be lying to myself. Do I want to go back to the Pack? Yes. Do I forgive them? No, not really.

I realise another thing when the door opens a few minutes later and in walks the Pack Alpha himself, I don't particularly want to talk to or see any of them either. I turn my head away from him and set my jaw, determined not to even acknowledge him. I listen as he crosses the room and sits down in the leather armchair by the bed.

'How are you feeling? You lost a lot of blood,' Jeremy says after another few minutes of tense silence.

I don't show any signs of even hearing him. I don't want him to know just how happy part of me is that he cares. That part of me that hopes maybe he will come in and make everything right again, sort out any problems if my blood has been taken and tell me that the mutt's been dealt with and everything can go back to how it was. Maybe it's the witch, or the human, or the wolf. Who knows? All I know is that my stronger instincts are still mad at Jeremy for what the Pack has done. He's in charge, meaning that they never would have attacked unless he ordered it. A sense of betrayal creeps up on me, but I quickly push it away before I can continue to dwell on the reasons behind it.

He sighs when I don't answer, 'Lia…'

'Don't,' I growl, knowing exactly what he was going to say, that it was all a big misunderstanding and that I belonged with the Pack, was safer with the Pack. 'Why are you even here? You set half the Pack on me and now you think that I'll come along back to you like a good little puppy?' My voice rises in my anger. 'And you know what I find really insulting? The fact that you actually believed I would do that. You believed that I would actually kill some humans, kill my best friends. You're a cold hearted bastard, Jeremy, that couldn't give a shit about anyone outside of your control.' I said a few more choice words at him (yelled really) before going silent, trying to rein in my temper. A small part of me is terrified at what I had just said to him. You don't yell at or insult those that are above you, the only lesson the Coven managed to force into my brain. And living with the Pack had only drilled the lesson in further.

'Are you done?' he asks, his voice level and calm.

I turn my head to face him and feel anger bubble up inside me again at his expressionless face. I hate that, his complete indifference to everything, barely reacting to anything; it's almost as if he doesn't even care. 'Fuck you,' I mutter under my breath.

He raises an eyebrow slightly at my retaliation. 'The doctor says you will be fine to leave in a couple of hours, Clay and Elena are just finishing the clean up and then we shall be leaving. You can return to University and finish your course next year.'

My mouth falls open. 'I'm not going back to New York with you.'

Jeremy looks me in the eye and I break contact immediately. 'You are coming back with us to Bear Valley even if I have to sedate you, and if you continue to be difficult then there's the cage.'

A cloud of dread tries to force itself into my brain. I push it back. I hate small spaces, as in really, really, completely terrified of them. It's the feeling of being trapped with no way out that scares me; scares the wolf, more likely.

'Benicio wanted to speak to you as well,' says Jeremy, getting up and heading for the door. It's then that I realise that I have no clue where the hell I am.

'Where are we?'

'Cortez Cable hospital, it was safer than going anywhere else and Benicio insisted.'

'Making us be in his debt.'

'Actually, it was him repaying a debt for us helping out with the mutt that was framing you.'

'Oh,' is all I say. So why would the CEO of the most powerful cable want to speak to me? A twenty year old whatever who has caused nothing but trouble since she moved to Florida. The door clicks shut and I'm left on my own again.

I look at the drip still attached to my hand. I'm sure I'll be fine without it. I pull it out and sit up. My vision blurs as the blood rushes to my head making the world around me spin. I almost lie back down again when my vision clears and everything around me stops moving and spinning wildly. Ignoring my pounding headache and stinging side, I push myself up off the bed and walk over to the double window. Outside is a busy road, jam packed with a mixture of expensive and old cars, business people rushing through their daily lives, their normal, boring, nothing-like-getting-nearly-killed-by-your-family-and-being-blamed-for-your-best-friend's-murder lives.

I lean my forehead on the cold glass and close my eyes, marvelling at the exceptional sound-proofing this place has. The sound from outside has been reduced to nothing more than a soft buzz that is only audible to someone with super hearing and concentrating on the noises. I listen harder trying to pick out different voices, when that fails I try to separate the sounds of cars from the sounds of people, anything to keep my mind from wandering. I don't want to think about what has happened, even though I know I'll have to eventually. I have to figure out what I'm going to do, whether I'm going to let myself be controlled by the Pack again or whether I would just be better off going off on my own again.

I'm sure, if I were thinking straight, I could come up with some other solutions, better ones. But my still slightly drugged brain isn't in a co-operative mood and seems determined to keep going off course. I glance at the clock hung on the wall, 5:27, meaning that I had only been out for a few hours, if it was still the same day of course. It doesn't feel like a few hours. I squeeze my eyes shut again, in less than two hours I had lost two of the most important people in the normal life I had managed to build for myself here in Florida, my best friend and the guy I was finally starting to like. Yet, here I am standing in a hospital room, alive and well. It's not fair. I'm the one that has committed the crimes; I disobeyed the Coven, I used dark magic, I disobeyed the Pack, I've killed people before without a second thought about their families or the fact that they were people with lives just like me. It isn't just mutts I've killed either…

Again, I push the thoughts back. What's done is done. You can't change the past no matter how hard and long you scream that it's not fair. There's no point in regretting something you can't undo, so why do I still feel so guilty about everything?

'What are you doing out of bed?' snaps an angry voice behind me. I spin round to face a stern looking woman in her mid-thirties with her hair pulled back into a tight bun showing her eyes that were enough to make any kid run crying to its mom. 'Well?'

'Umm…' Normally I would reply with some smart ass excuse, but remember that kid running crying to its mom? Yeah, that would be me if mine was still alive. Before I can think of something (or run away) a stocky man with deeply etched lines around his dark brown eyes and lips and shortly cut dark hair appears behind her.

'Miss Valo, it's good to see you up at last,' Benicio Cortez, CEO of the most powerful cable, greets me with a warm smile.

I don't miss the 'at last' part of what he had just said. Again, I wonder how long I've been lying in hospital for. 'It's good to know that I've been in good hands for the past…?'

'Two weeks,' he supplies. A look of horror passes over my face and disappears, hopefully, before he can figure out what it is. 'Well, since you're up and about I would like a word with you if that's alright.'

He may have phrased it as a question, but it was obvious that I really had no choice in the matter. So I keep a smile plastered on my face and say that I'll be ready in a few minutes once I've had time to freshen up.

He leaves the room with the nurse, who was still scowling at anything that moves, a few steps behind him. I bounce on the balls of my feet for a few seconds, as if it would tell me why Benicio wanted to speak to me. No such luck, surprisingly. Annoyed at myself for not figuring anything out apart from how long I've been here, I get ready for my meeting with Benicio. I glance at the bed. Or maybe I should just hide.

Ten minutes later and I'm sitting in Benicio's office, hands gripping a mug of coffee as if it's going to grow legs and run away if I let go. Benicio himself isn't here, he'd been called away to talk to someone after delivering his 'generous offer'. Generous wouldn't be what I would call it, not by a long shot. Okay, yes maybe some would jump at the opportunity, but me? I keep on saying I want to leave the Pack, I've already done so once. So why am I so reluctant to agree to something that will give me a good enough reason to stay away from New York? Simple answer I don't want to leave the Pack, deep down I don't. But at the same time I want an excuse to have a bit more time with out them and to try and brave the world alone.

_I had hardly stepped through the doorway before Benicio was talking. It took my fog filled brain a couple of seconds to comprehend that it was supposed to be paying attention. I shook my head slightly and looked up from the spot on my shirt I had been so determinedly staring at. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer to a question I didn't hear. _

'_Sorry could you repeat that please,' I said politely. _

_A flicker of annoyance flared behind his eyes, but he repeated himself nonetheless, 'I would like to offer you a job, Lia. I know of your reluctance to return to New York and have had an opening. Should you accept this generous offer then you will receive the same security and perks of any other cable employee.' _

'_But… I'm a werewolf,' I said stupidly. 'Cables don't hire werewolves.'_

'_Yes, but I won't be hiring you as a werewolf, I will hiring you as a witch,' he explained coolly, waving to a seat in front of the huge desk he was sitting behind. 'Coffee?' _

'_Yes, thank you.' I accepted the mug he gave me and noticed that it was bordering on getting too cold. 'So you want to hire me as a witch?' I repeat slowly. I then realised something. 'How do know I'm a witch?' I blurt out. We'd been careful not to let any of the Cables figure out that I'm not quite what I appear to be, meaning no eye contact and getting called 'that shy girl with the werewolves' all the time. We had feared that if the Cables found out I would share the same fate as those before me that are… different. My mind flittered back to Jasper Haig, a living chameleon, who was kept alive purely for the reason that he was different, a lab rat with nowhere to go. If the Cables knew what I was then I would be lucky to not get locked in a cell complete with a double bed and anything else I could want. _

_He smiled at me, 'I've known ever since Paige and Lucas' wedding. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone and I am not going to ask you to allow my scientist to experiment on you, as I am sure that is the reason this was kept from me?' _

_I nodded mutely._

'_All I want is a skilled witch to teach my grandsons spell work.'_

'_Why not a sorcerer?' I asked._

'_Because from experience witches seem to be best at witch magic and that is what I wish for them to have the chance to learn.' He paused and studied my face. I look down at the now cold mug in my hands. 'After what happened with the Liberation Movement last year, I'm not willing to take any chances. I want my grandsons to have the widest knowledge possible of spell casting. I will not force you to agree, but I need to know before the end of the day.' _

_I opened my mouth to say that teaching isn't really my thing when a knock at the door cut me off. The door opened slightly and the blonde secretary poked her head through the doorway._

'_I hate to interrupt you, sir, but Mr. Desford is in the meeting room and wishes to see you.' She said. 'Or I could tell him you're busy?' she offered as if she had only just noticed me sat in the room. _

'_No, I had best talk to him,' Benicio replied, pushing himself up._

_The secretary nodded then backed out of the room again. He glanced at me then said, 'Sorry about this, Miss Valo, how about you think about my offer and tell me your decision when I get back.' Again, it sounded more like a command than a suggestion. _

_I nodded my head again without saying a word. He turned away from me and disappeared through the door, closing it behind him._

My stomach growls, reminding me that I haven't eaten anything since waking up. I mentally go through the layout of the building and map out the fastest route to the exit. There's a small coffee shop across the road that does all day breakfast. Deciding that's what I'll do while I'm waiting for Benicio I get up, leaving the stone cold coffee on the table, and slip out the door to walk straight into one of Benicio's two guards. I look up at the towering figure in front of me, a slight smirk on his face.

'Going somewhere, Lia?' Troy Morgan, head of Cortez security, asks me, his tone light.

'I'm going to get something to eat. I haven't eaten in forever,' I inform him matter of factly, while trying to sneak past him.

'Mr. Cortez wants you to wait for him before you try and sneak off,' he says, blocking my path again. The wolf's hackles rise at the 'threat'.

'I'm not sneaking anywhere, just get an all day breakfast from across the road.'

He still looks slightly sceptical.

I sigh, 'Look, I'll get take out so I'm only going to be a few minutes and if Benicio gets annoyed about me not being here then I will take full responsibility. Please Troy.' I give him my best innocent little girl look.

'Fine, as long as you're quick, straight there and straight back got it?'

'Yes, sir,' I mock salute. 'By the way, who made the coffee?' I ask as an after thought.

His eyebrows knot together in confusion at my sudden change of subject. 'Me, why?'

'No reason,' I shrug, and then walk by him and down the stairs. I could take the elevator, but that would mean standing in a small space surrounded by strangers, too far from comfort for me.

By the third step down I realise I'm being followed. I sneak a glance behind me and mentally sigh at the six foot guard behind me, watching my every move. Trust Troy to send someone to stalk me as I brave the dangerous adventure of filling my stomach, I mean, you never know, I might get attacked by bacon, or worse… salt!

When I get to the third floor I have to go to the back of the building to get to the stairs. I'm halfway there when I hear a familiar voice down the corridor. I shake my head. I'm imagining things, it's not them, it can't be. Still, I pause slightly before turning the corner and take a deep breath, sampling the air. No scents I recognise, but that could just be because of the air con. I shiver slightly in a sudden icy breeze and turn the corner, my eyes down. A couple are talking down the corridor; I don't recognise their voices, not a surprise really seeing as I've only ever been here once before. As I pass by the couple, a familiar scent stirs a memory that I can't place.

'Lia?' says a voice suddenly from behind. I turn round slowly, not daring to believe what I think, _who_ I just think I've heard. I look up into their faces and stare. Their scent washes over me for the second time, enveloping my senses. That's impossible…


End file.
